Past Tense

Exploring Idleness and Boredom as Compositional Strategies

Past Tense is a participatory, long-term sound installation inspired by "idle" games: systems that evolve on their own and invite only occasional interaction. Small sounds captured from the environment, electronics, radio, and visitors slowly accumulate, forming a growing sonic mass. Participants may briefly intervene, releasing short sonic gestures before the system settles back into its autonomous flow. Through gradual feedback and repetition, the work invites a relaxed, daydream-like mode of listening and composing, in which past sounds resurface, and the work unfolds from a small kernel of inputs over time.