A Light in Darkness (Variations on a Theme)

“A Light In Darkness” seeks to explore the ways we navigate turmoil in our lives. Through sound, image, sound sculpture, and site-specific installations, “A Light In Darkness” presents impressions of how we find harmony amidst discord, security in chaos, and hope to endure loss. Various rooms are utilized to create immersive environments, which, together, examine our facility to navigate psychic or metaphysical traumas, fears, and anguish.

“A Light in Darkness” will utilize several rooms in the SDAI Project Space at Horton Plaza. The largest of these installations will be a navigable listening space where guests will be challenged to use their hearing in order to see the work. Moving around the space one will experience many things: noise, chaos, tension, harmony, and clarity. Consisting of a perimeter of projected imagery and a multichannel soundscape designed to acoustically interact with a harmonious sound sculpture in the room’s center, the large installation is an audio and visual representation of the world we inhabit. Other installations will use smaller spaces to create environments for one person at a time to engage in more introspective explorations. The smaller installations are made up of a prepared space, a chair, a visual or focal point, and audio content over headphones. Each of these small spaces explores a different variation on the theme.

About Scott Nielsen:

Scott Nielsen is a sound designer, sound artist, musician, composer, performer, instrument builder, and audio engineer from San Diego, California. Scott has taught courses in Audio Production/Recording Arts, Computer Music, Sound Design, and Sound Synthesis at Miramar College, DePaul University and the Illinois Institute of Art. His Sound Designs for theatre have been heard at the Yale Repertory Theatre (New Haven, CT), The Victory Theatre (Chicago, IL), The Merle Reskin Theatre (Chicago, IL), the North Park Theatre (San Diego, CA), as well as in various storefronts, warehouses and other non-traditional spaces around the country. Scott’s sound installations and experimental performances have been experienced at the Yale Art Gallery (New Haven, CT), Five Funerals at The Charnel House (Chicago, IL), Space 4 Art (San Diego, CA), The Carlsbad Music Festival (Carlsbad, CA), and the San Diego Experimental Guitar Show (Stay Strange SDXG) among many others. Scott performs regularly with his handmade Harmonics Guitar and other instruments, in addition to being a founding member of the experimental Audio/Visual ensemble Die Mißbildungen Des Menschen.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.