Canon #2. Samson Young

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"Canon #2" consists of an LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device), a non-lethal sonic weapon. Situated on one of the balconies overlooking the Gropius Bau’s atrium, it mechanically sweeps across the central space. Once the device locates a person, it targets them with a concentrated sound beam of recorded birdcalls. Close by, a colonial-era Hong Kong police uniform is displayed; a silent reminder to the geopolitical divide that this performative sound installation by Young, references. At one point during the exhibition Young will operate the LRAD himself, pointing it at visitors in the Gropius Bau. The work expands Young’s ongoing exploration of the affective quality of music and sound as an invisible power that is capable of transcending the most impenetrable of physical barriers. The LRAD utilizes sound as a weapon that has a direct impact on human behaviour. Sound can be used as a tool of state control to separate people, both physically and psychologically.