Soundbath
2019, I set up a sound art installation in the Bagnio Popular in Baden, which is this old, alternative hot bath. The idea was pretty simple but intriguing: inside one of the small baths, I let a metal bowl—just a regular IKEA salad bowl equipped with a contact microphone—float on the hot water. Inside the bowl, there was a marble. The concept was that as long as no one was in the water, everything stayed quiet. The presence of a person entering the bath would set the water in motion, causing the marble to move and produce a meditative, resonant sound.
In theory, the composition was just the subtle reaction to someone’s presence. But of course, people couldn’t resist. They started touching the bowl, playing with the sounds, and soon enough, you had a whole group of bathers experimenting and creating all sorts of unexpected sound interactions. It turned into this spontaneous, joyful sound experiment. I was there a few times and loved seeing how it all evolved from a quiet idea into this lively, interactive piece.
Artwork Description:
Artist: Simon Berz
Title: Sound Bath
Material: Metal bowl, electronics, water
Location/Date: Bagno POPOLARE Baden, 2019