The concept of Oorwonde is an aural surgery whereby the visitor, aka the “patient”, hears and feels the soundtrack of a fictitious operation. The patient can influence various aspects of the sounds and determine the location where the sounds are reproduced.
Oorwonde’s focal point is to bring across sounds that balance on the border of the audible. To achieve this the sounds are conveyed in various ways; speakers, electro-magnets, a vibrator motor and a piezoelectric disk are assigned to specific places on the human body. Oorwonde further explores the concept of bodily hearing as the various elements are aimed at different body parts. Hearing is no longer restricted to the ears.
Oorwonde is as much a tactile experience as an auditory one as the emitted sound waves are designed to be felt. When standing next to the table the produced sounds can barely be heard. Consequently, Oorwonde can only be fully experienced when its surroundings are completely silent. Noise from works nearby would completely destroy the patient’s experience of the subtle noises and feelings.
The visual shape of Oorwonde reflects the surgical associations. The table is constructed in stainless steel and the lamp producing a clear-cut bundle of white light on the patients face resembles an operating lamp.
Although at first sight the sound work might strike someone with terror and often people are hesitant to take place on the table, the actual experience is a rather pleasant one as in contrast to a real operation it is the patient who is in full control.