Last night I attended a launch for Jem Finer’s Sonic Ray — it is a mesmerising thing to see a laser beam of sound traversing the river Thames, journeying back and forth across darkened waters beneath it. The work opens to the public from 30 September–21 November 2021 and you can book tickets here.
Sonic Ray – a new installation produced by Artangel, celebrating the 1,000 year-long musical composition Longplayer, created by artist Jem Finer. Originally scheduled for 2020, Sonic Ray was commissioned to mark the 20th anniversary of Longplayer, which began playing from the lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf at midday on 31 December 1999 and will continue to play until 2,999 when it completes its cycle as the longest piece of music in history.
From the lighthouse, a bridge of light is beamed across the river to North Greenwich, encoding and transmitting the sound of Longplayer to a new temporary listening post aboard Richard Wilson’s nautical sculpture Slice of Reality. A short ferry ride will connect the two locations, allowing visitors to experience Longplayer as a bridge of light across the river at both locations.
Built in 1864 the lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf in East London was known as the “Experimental Lighthouse”, a landmark housing the workshop where Faraday conducted his optical tests. It has been the home of Longplayer for 21 years
Sonic Ray transmitting Longplayer from Trinity Buoy Wharf Lighthouse
The receiver at Richard Wilson’s Slice of Reality
Drawings by Jem finer in Richard Wilson’s Slice of Reality