The work of Albanian artist Anri Sala questions the constructions of nonverbal languages by parting from the sensorial implications these convey. Sound and sight are two of the primordial senses in his production, which consists of videos, photographic installations, and performances that approach the consideration of multiple alternative interpretations to established reality.
The work Three Minutes (2004) presents a black-and-white projection without sound in which a metallic percussion cymbal from a drum set may be observed, filmed for three minutes beneath a strobe light. The repetition is crucial to generating a hypnotic sensation, integrally based on visual reception. The artist relieves a musical instrument of its primordial function, falling back on the specific properties inherent to the object. These are activated through light and provide evidence of the rhythms that emerge from both its material nature and the direct perception of its sensorial aesthetic.
