The Core, 2025
The Core, 2025
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A project started last year connecting Bain in the Netherlands with Kirik from Ukraine with the help of CTM Berlin and K41 in Kyiv along with support from the Ukrainian Institute and the Goethe Institute, Kyiv.
Two artists involved in decoding seismic data of warfare from the front line of the full scale invasion of Ukraine along with the seismic data of the immediate locality of the performance space where these lines of data is translated into a physical sonic experience.
They first met in June 2025, brought together during a residency in Kyiv while drones and ballistic threats filled the evenings.
They explored both the differences and similarities in their cultural backgrounds, alongside the distance of their generations — an encounter that felt both curious and invigorating.
They shared, connected, discussed, disagreed, and evolved through this exchange. Through sound, they began to develop a language of communication rooted in trauma, conflict, and connection — both between themselves as performers and with their audience.
As the war continues and new conflicts emerge, they remain engaged in shaping this language of resistance and connection through the immaterial experience of sound.
Kirik works with Geophysicists in Ukraine ‘audifying’ seismic data from locations along the frontlines. She also builds her own computational instruments and devices to add to this sonic quality. Another aspect is her singing and vocalizations referencing past folk traditions of resistance and of life in Ukraine.
Bain works with the living sound of architecture utilizing live seismic sensors and sound systems to generate resonant frequencies related to the actual performance space. Other elements include self built sound generators and filtering elements which add to the performative structures.
Khrystyna Kirik × Mark Bain — sound and vibration performance
This live performance is based on seismic data from Ukraine collected between 2022 and 2025, provided by scientist Alexander Liashchuk. The material includes recordings of missile strikes and explosions in Kharkiv and Kherson, continuous seismic activity from the Poltava station, earthquakes in the Chernihiv and Poltava regions, and the moment of the Kakhovka dam's destruction.
Seismic data is a combination of values recorded by a seismograph over a certain period of time — time series. They have a structure where the first parameter is time and the second is the value. To make them audible, they need to be interpreted as a signal within the frequency range perceptible to humans. The vibrations recorded by the device are not within the audible range (0.001–15 Hz).
These files have a sample rate of 40 (40 data points per second), while the music we usually listen to is typically at 44 kHz.
How were these values converted into audio? There were three main approaches:
Compression without changing the number of points — the 40 Hz sample rate is mapped to 44 kHz. This means the original data is played back much faster. The duration is shortened and the frequencies are increased. For example, if the original signal had a frequency of 1 Hz, after such compression it would sound at 44100/40 = 1102.5 Hz, which is significantly higher.
100× acceleration with interpolation — intermediate points are added. Based on the known points, the possible values between them are calculated.
Interpolation without changing the duration — frequencies remain the same.
In both the second and third approaches, anti-aliasing filtering was also applied to eliminate any frequencies that could introduce unwanted noise during interpolation.
These seismic traces are translated into sound and low-frequency vibrations that are felt physically as much as they are heard. The performance uses dense sound layers, drones, noise, voice, and powerful subwoofer and ultra-subwoofer systems.
Mark Bain works with the building itself as a resonant structure, allowing the architecture to respond to the vibrations. Khrystyna uses her voice through a throat microphone alongside audified seismic recordings.
The performance is structured as a gradual movement from the surface toward deeper layers, shifting from audible sound toward bodily vibration. It focuses on the physical traces of war and the ongoing movement of the ground — phenomena typically registered by instruments rather than felt by the human body.
Article about Core performance from Zone of Alienation event at Kantine am Berghain – read
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