Funeral of Horses

Joao Costa

Sound installation using motors and horsehair to play forty strings.

http://blog.joaocosta.co/category/subs/pds/

Description

Twenty wooden beams with two guitar strings each are played by a wheel with Mongolian horsehair. Mongolian horses were of extreme importance during the era of Genghis Khan to the extent that forty horses were reputedly sacrificed at his tomb – his steeds would be needed in his afterlife, and their gallops can be heard on this forty-string soundscape.

The horsehair itself is hard to tame – it is constantly attempting to break free from the wheel. It craves for wildness and freedom while simultaneously issuing cries of pain.

Classes

New Interfaces for Musical Expression, Project Development Studio