By means of analog and digital images placed side by side on a screen divided into three areas, Full Circle represents the properties of a physical and sound performance.

On the top, right-hand side, a high-angle shot of a work scene shows the artist seated at a table, with an object in his hands. The image is treated as a shadow by the sharp contrast of blacks and whites, without any intermediary value, so that the only information it yields is the opposition between the material or physical masses and the space separating them.

At the foot, in a rectangle the width of the screen, is a close-up of the artist's hands showing a copper rod being twisted. The matter that is being transformed is presented in its physical reality then symbolically, by a red, digital line, which refers to the colour of copper when it is new.

On the top left-hand side, a short green line unfolds into a circle then into a cylinder through the action of the voice. The artist continually emits the sound "ah" as he twists the copper, to the extent that the intensity of the vocalisat ion varies according to the physical effort. To produce the digital image of the sound variations using an oscilloscope, it was necessary to add a constant electronic signal. The colour of this representation of breathing and the sound of the action is a response to the green appearance of oxidised copper and refers to the matter of the first action.

The manipulation of the rod and the digital image of the sound contrast the properties of the actions both with the material and the sound produced by the rapid vibration of the matter of surrounding objects, transported by the air. These tw o properties are symbolised by the highly-contrasted black and white image which represents a synthesis of the conditions of this dual performance.

Gary Hill has produced installationswhich have the same objective: a retrospective or direct look at the action being carried out. Thus, in Mesh, created in the same year as Full Circle, the artist sought to make the involvem ent of the viewer in an environmental work visible. Pieces of wire mesh were hung in layers on a wall. An oscilloscope was associated with each of them, as well as four loudspeakers. The visitor set the pieces of metal wire mesh in motion by entering into the space. The sound produced was amplified by the loudspeakers and the image of the scene was relayed back to the viewer by means of a video camera and a monitor. Full Circle goes further by introducing a represen tation of the physical properties implemented.

Thérèse Beyler