GUEST ARTIST #8
SIEDL/CAO: NOT AS IT IS, BUT AS WE ARE
Sound Installation
Monday, May 11, 2026, 18:00 (opening & artist talk)
@ SP•CE [Billrothstraße 6/2, 1190 Vienna]
Further opening hours: May 12 to 15, 2026, 18:00-21:00
Part of the AUDIO GHOSTS Guest Artists Series.
GUEST ARTIST #8
SIEDL/CAO: NOT AS IT IS, BUT AS WE ARE
Sound Installation
Utilising an array of 16 rotating pairs of Aeolian flutes, this installation facilitates a complex intersection of physical acoustic phenomena and psychoacoustic perception. Each pair of flutes is tuned slightly apart, producing acoustic beating through the physical interference of close frequencies. Also at play are the intermodulation products (combination tones) generated by the non-linear physiology of the inner ear and frequency modulation derived from the Doppler effect as the flutes rotate. By juxtaposing measurable acoustic phenomena with auditory illusion, the installation serves as a critical inquiry into the divergence between objective physical stimuli and subjective human perception, a distinction of increasing relevance in a contemporary landscape where the boundaries between the real and the unreal are increasingly obscured.
SIEDL/CAO
Siedl/Cao with Cao Thanh Lan (she/her) from Vietnam and Gregor Siedl (he/him) from Austria is a Vienna-based transdisciplinary artist duo who have been working together since 2013. While sound has always been at the heart of their practice, they have been incorporating a wide range of mediums into their kinetic sound installations, wearable sonic sculptures, sound interventions, and contemporary music theatre; blurring the boundary between art disciplines. Sound in their work functions as a social artefact ‑ carrying memories, associations, and expressions of cultural identity. Many of their projects are socially engaged, involving active audience participation or happening in public spaces to invite reflection on our connection with the natural and social environment. Questioning the anthropocentric view of humankind, they consciously collaborate with natural forces to shape their work’s unfolding.
Works by Siedl/Cao have been presented at international art institutions, festivals and residencies, including: MCAM – Ming Contemporary Art Museum Shanghai, TCAC – Taipei Contemporary Art Center, Koganecho Art Center Yokohama, Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin, FIME – Festival Internacional de Musica Experimental São Paulo, Ars Electronica – Linz, Operadagen Rotterdam, Relincha Festival Valdivia, Acefalo Festival Valparaiso, Festival Ars Musica Electronica Torun, BIFF – Busan International Film Festival, Fresh Cells Festival for Intermedial Performance Cologne, Strom Festival Cologne, State Opera Hanoi, New Music Festival Hanoi, Ftarri Tokyo, Nomart Gallery Osaka, cheLA Buenos Aires…