IMA | lab No. 24: Christoph Illing

Resident in Berlin, sound artists, programmer, and composer of electro-acoustic music, Christoph Illing is scheduled to be guest at the ZKM | Institute of Music and Acoustics in April 2014. In discussion with Ludger Brümmer, he will be presenting his most recent projects as part of the IMA | lab Series. Forming the basis of his work, these involve so-called »brain decompositions« − audified brain waves − produced in collaboration with neuroscientist, Titus von der Malsburg.Illing studied sound studies/acoustic communication under Holger Schulze and Martin Supper at the Berlin University of Arts (UdK). At the UdK, he developed his interests in experimental notation and language philosophy which constitutes the foundation for his artistic work. He deepened his foundations in language-philosophy at the Focusing Center Karlsruhe by way of psychological basis training in the focusing method developed by Eugene T. Gendlin. The sounds for »brain decompositions« resulted from experiments in pure theory in linguistic processing in the brain as carried out by Titus von Malsburg.

Illing published several notations in the anthologies »Notations 21« (USA), and »The Dark Would« (GB). Notation is, for him, the art-historical basis for negotiating the question as to the whys and the wherefores of a work, and to place these in relation to the design of sounds, for sound installations and electro-acoustic music.
Illing is member of the scientific committee of the xCoAx conference for media art and aesthetics in Porto.

He produced compositions and performances on the relationship between sound and meaning in collaboration with the singer Ulrike Sowodniok. For the composition and sound design for Lisa Seidel-Kukuk, and her piece »Sensibles Chaos« [sensible chaos] they received the award for best scenic and technical concept and presentation at the Erbil Theater Festival 2011. Various scientific publications on sound and perception are published by transcript-Verlag.