Camille Norment's Sonic Installation for Nordic Pavilion at 2015 Venice Biennale

Camille Norment will present a multisensory installation titled 'Rapture' in the Nordic Pavilion at the 2015 Venice Biennale. The work transforms the Giardini pavilion into a sonic environment featuring a new choral composition and sounds from a Glass Armonica resonating through the building's glass membrane. Sculptural elements incorporating projectile boom microphones and shattered glass reinforce the auditory experience. Norment describes the installation as creating a state hovering between poetry and catastrophe, with visitors leaving in a condition of excitation. She approaches the pavilion as a historic artifact that must contend with external forces like weather, making the work site-specific. The artist reflects on her first Biennale experience in 1993, particularly impressed by Hans Haacke's German pavilion installation with its broken floor sound. Born American, Norment acknowledges curiosity about her representation of the Nordic region but emphasizes art's ability to transcend political frameworks. She aims to make the installation accessible through immediate sensory experience while offering deeper layers for those interested. The artist also looks forward to revisiting Venice's quieter spaces and understanding historical aspects like glassworks trade.