Fugue Zones, ost

Description:

To mark the opening of the multi-channel audiovisual installation Fugue Zones, ost, artists  DeForrest Brown Jr., Steve Goodman (Kode9), and Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste presented a live performance in the Grand Luxe Hall. 

In this second iteration of their collaboration, the artists continued to work with a unique ensemble of consumer- and military-grade audio technologies intended for control, distraction, surveillance, entertainment, and force, asking, “What else can this do?” Bringing together their distinct production practices and critical concerns, Fugue Zones, ost was a prolonged inquiry into the subversive potential of sonic technologies freed from their intended use value, while embracing the multiple associations of fugue as its conceptual starting point.

The evening opened with a performative lecture by Toussaint-Baptiste delivered through a long-range acoustic device (LRAD), often referred to as a “sound cannon.” He examined the use of sonic weapons against civilians by law enforcement, drawing attention to the contested legal classification of the LRAD as a communication tool or non-weapon, despite both its capacity and documented use for harm. Framing the device explicitly as a weapon, he described its deployment by police and military forces, emphasizing its highly customizable, hyper-directional sound projection and the dangers it poses when used at close range.

Toussaint-Baptiste also spoke about his practice of purchasing LRAD units on the secondary market in order to remove them from circulation, repurposing them instead as instruments for artistic intervention. Activating the device in line with its stated “communicative” function, he used it as both microphone and speaker to amplify the “Cha Cha Slide.” In a deliberate inversion of its typical use, the LRAD became a tool for gathering rather than dispersal, as he invited the audience to join him in the dance.

Following this, DeForrest Brown Jr. and Steve Goodman (Kode9) presented new electronic compositions amplified in the Grand Luxe Hall from adjoining rooms. The audience was invited to move through the space, experiencing the spatial diffusion of sound and interacting with an ambisonic microphone positioned at its centre.

Throughout the performance, two live video streams captured the view from the Western Front’s library window onto the street, projected onto panels mounted on opposing walls. 

Fugue Zones, ost was presented as a site-specific installation in the Grand Luxe Hall from February 12 to March 7, 2026. 

Fugue Zones, ost was co-produced with Canary Test, Los Angeles with support from the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts Infinite Expansion Grant, the Canada Council for the Arts, and SOCAN Foundation.