Pollute the mountain to better destroy it
Arsen ECA
The installation
I appreciate silence, especially when it suits the place perfectly, where you can listen to the birds singing, the rustling of the leaves in the trees. At the heart of the mountain, near a lake fed by a river rich in fish, are the surrounding mountains. The lake is absolutely calm, without the slightest breeze. For me, it was the ideal place to introduce a discordant note, to disturb this silence.
I chose to install an old telephone at an altitude of 1800 meters in the mountain pastures, connecting it by a 300 meter telephone cable to the peaks, thanks to the complicity of a mountain guard and the ‘access to his telephone line.
This old telephone, placed on a rock, could ring following a simple call, the number of which was shared. I named it “Ring Point”.
And the phone rang
Like the click that activates a deviant system, the idea of acting at a distance captivates me. By dialing a telephone number, you initiate a ringtone which, left unanswered, will ring incessantly, disturbing the serenity of nature, day and night, following the rhythm of the calls. At the other end of the line, there is an inability to visualize the scene and be aware of the noise pollution thus generated. Everything is hidden, made invisible, to facilitate disinhibition.
The result
The result is striking: nature magnificently soiled by striking ugliness. A simple telephone placed on a rock, repelling wildlife – chamois, birds – and paradoxically attracting men.
I maintained this installation for three days and three nights, before being forced to dismantle it, letting the capricious weather take over this disturbed landscape.
