The Universe Breathes Us (pre-installation images)

August 16–Sept 28, 2025

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Art exhibition at Kling and Bang Art Space, Reykjavik, Iceland:

by Relational (Shirley Tse and Dana Berman Duff )

with Doug Ferrand, Alan Berman Duff, C3LA (Choral Collective Los Angeles) and Kliður (Reykjavik artists’ choir)
 

The Universe Breathes Us is an artists’ collaboration that takes tidal turbine energy as a model that reveals a physical truth: forces originate from the relations of things, not from things themselves. The artists are drawn to the poetics of ocean tides as a manifestation of the gravitational forces between the Sun, Earth and Moon, forces which can be used as a source of collectable energy. The artists connect this energy model to human body breathing, where air moves by pressure differentials or its relative density:

 

It is important to note that in spite of how it feels when you inhale, you do not actually pull air into the body. On the contrary, air is

pushed into the body by the atmospheric pressure that always surrounds you. This means that the actual force that gets air into the

lungs is outside of the body. The energy expended in breathing produces a shape change that lowers the pressure in the chest cavity

and permits the air to be pushed into the body by the weight of the planet's atmosphere. In other words, you create the space, and

the universe fills it.

 

—From Yoga Anatomy, Leslie Kaminoff and Amy Matthews

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"The Universe Breathes Us" sung by Contemporary Choral Collective Los Angeles​

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The relation between tides and breathing is well established in physiology, as the term “tidal volume” refers to the amount of air that moves in or out of the lungs with each respiratory cycle. The moon is an important motif in this exhibition, reflecting the relational tension of its colossal mass to the earth’s tides, of light and dark, of day and night, of ocean waves rising and falling. By highlighting the intangible connection between things, this exhibition counters the (mostly-Western) concept of isolated individuals who are discrete and separate from other living beings.​

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Included in the exhibits are collapsible sculptures, light, sound, film projection, videos, photographs, and an original  song performed live by a choir. Experimental music composer Doug Farrand collaborates with Relational on a sonic piece that is structured by the tide tables of Reykjavik. Composer-musician Alan Berman turned the quote above into a song that emphasizes the relational force that creates breathing. The song will be recorded in Los Angeles by the renowned collective C3LA and played on demand in the exhibition for viewers to sing along. The Reykjavik artists’ choir Kliður is invited to practice and perform live in the exhibition space. Through singing about the pressure differentials between the body and the earth’s atmosphere, the relational force is experienced in action and practice. Participants will also experience the relational force in different voice frequencies in an ensemble.

Relational intends to maintain Tse’s inquiry and commitment to a “zero impact” art practice by refraining as much as possible

from consuming new materials and by employing repurposed supplies.

The exhibition is accompanied by an “exhibition notebook” that documents the collaborative process. Research notes and conversations, email exchanges, sketches, photographs, lyrics and music for the song and other reference materials are included.