Perth Voice Interactive

FREMANTLE artist Olga Cironis put the call out on social media for old violins nobody wanted.

She got a good response and was soon scooting about Perth, picking up the donated instruments from here, there and everywhere.

Instead of restoring them to their former glory, Cironis decided to tightly wrap them in drab, utilitarian blankets – the kind of thing you would find in soldiers’ barracks in World War II.

For her exhibition Noise in This Silence she created 15 of these smothered violins, and the overall effect is unsettling and slightly eerie – like watching an old, distinguished Hollywood actress being waterboarded.

These vintage instruments no longer have any sound, purpose or future. Or do they?

“It is not only a metaphor for loss, it is also a reference to survival and the desire to better the world,” Cironis says.

“The violins are enveloped in protection, like bodies warmed from the cold. It’s about that space between life and death.

“And yes, the violins reference the looming environmental chaos as well as the conflicts in the Ukraine, Israel/Palestine and Africa. They lament humanity.”

Cironis is not a musician and says she chose violins because they represent the soulful sound of sorrow and redemption – “their sound is visceral and their history heroic.”

In an age when we are constantly bombarded by blaring, quick-fire videos on social media, perhaps the most profound thing you can say is nothing. Just silence and some disfigured instruments that once created beautiful music.

“Covering is exposing the form underneath, exposing the vulnerability of the body or of sound. Remembering the feeling of peace,” Cironis says. 

The Voice was getting flashbacks to horror movies like Halloween and Scream when it saw the violins, and we couldn’t help asking Cironis if she was a fan of the genre.

“I really don’t like horror movies. If there is anything I hate, it’s horror. Like wars and human selfishness,” she says.

Originally hailing from Czechoslovakia, Cironis is a prolific and experienced artist who lives and works in Fremantle.

She has a BA and Masters in Visual Arts from Sydney College of the Arts, and over the past three decades has held numerous solo and group exhibitions across Australia.

He visual art often takes everyday objects and displaces them, sending the viewer down a rabbit hole where they question the world around them.

Rabbit hole

Her work also explores the themes of identity and belonging, perhaps a sub-conscious nod to her Greek, Czech and Australian heritage.

Cironis says she isn’t done yet, and is still amassing more violins and cellos.

“I’m still collecting and covering,” she says.

“Imagine an empty historic building filled with 80-150 covered violins with the sound of human breathing emanating from surrounding speakers…”

Noise in This Silence is at Art Collective WA in Cathedral Square, 2/565 Hay Street, Perth until August 3. There is an artists talk with Cironis and fellow exhibiting artist Anne Neil on Saturday July 13 at 2pm at the gallery. For more info and opening hours see artcollectivewa.com.au. 

By STEPHEN POLLOCK