Neo Sora | 空 音央

Below the lighthouse is darkest part of night
October 30 - February 19, 2022
The David Ireland House

Working in the intersection of film and photography, Tokyo and New York–based artist duo Zakkubalan, Neo S. Sora and Albert Tholen, present a multimedia exhibition of new and older work at The David Ireland House at 500 Capp Street this fall. Below the lighthouse is the darkest part of night is Zakkubalan’s first solo exhibition in the US.

The pair lived in the House throughout the month of October, an unusually immersive occupancy that is a first for The David Ireland House. As they have settled in, they have been keenly aware of the unique sounds, airflow, and shifting light patterns within conceptual artist David Ireland’s historic home turned work of art. These experiences, coupled with their interest in Ireland’s long held fantasy that the House had been built by a sea captain, inform the four new installation works they are creating for the exhibition.

“Inspired by the way light plays and shifts in David Ireland’s radiant house, our work will explore the simple sensory experience of our month-long stay here,” says Zakkubalan. “Similar to how Ireland collected rubber bands (handed down by Paul Greub), nail clippings, and brooms, we are accumulating light, sound, and routine—details that usually sit at the edge of our perception. By recomposing and heightening these elements, we are creating an audiovisual collage that inverts the usual balance of everyday experience.”

A video piece in the Accordion Room references Ireland’s cherished sea captain myth, that was, in part, inspired by the curious curved walls of the House. The work merges seascape imagery with footage of light patterns on the House’s walls and is projected onto a ghost-like, floating curve of translucent fabric.

A small video piece in the parlor serves as a record of Zakkubalan’s month in the House and reflects on Ireland’s interest in performative everyday actions. A play on light and dark, the work is inspired by the artists’ first nights in the House as they went through a prolonged routine of trying to understand how to turn the profusion of light fixtures on and off.

In what the artists call a “handshake” with Ireland, Zakkubalan’s fourth installation builds on Ireland’s copper window and his recording of the view outside of it with a sculptural projection that reinstates the view using the original broken window that was replaced.

Exhibitions

• Below the lighthouse is darkest part of night October 30 - February 19, 2022 @ The David Ireland House