Fugue Zones, ost

Western Front is pleased to present Fugue Zones, ost, a multi-channel audiovisual installation by DeForrest Brown Jr., Steve Goodman (Kode9), and Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste, that embraces the multiple associations of fugue as its conceptual starting point. In this second iteration of their collaboration, the artists continue to work with a unique ensemble of consumer- and military-grade audio technologies intended for control, distraction, surveillance, entertainment, and force, asking, “What else can this do?”

This new, site-specific work insists on the physical latency—the time between an action and its reception—within the architecture of the Grand Luxe Hall, its adjacent rooms, corridors, and streets, and between zones of anticipation, concealment, and exteriority. Walls cease being barriers, becoming instead enlivened and permeable. An image of the outside is livestreamed within, while interior sounds are routed back into the space itself, allowing the mechanics of spectacle to be understood as a system of relation and abstraction.

Devices commonly deployed by police for crowd control find subtlety in their recontextualization, while subwoofers are redeployed from nightlife and sound-system cultures into an affective and vibrational architecture. Hyper-directional speakers rend the sonic field into distinct regions, as noise-cancelling headphones bloom into loudspeakers. This chimeric array of sounds and devices feeds back and folds in on itself, leaving a brief and immediate trace of its own uncanny doubling. Bringing together the artists’ distinct production practices and critical concerns, Fugue Zones, ost is a prolonged inquiry into the subversive potential of materials and tools freed from their intended use value.

The work will begin at fifteen minutes after the top of each hour. The installation will open with a live performance by the artists on Feb 7, 2026 at a time TBC.

DeForrest Brown, Jr. is an Alabama-raised, Ex-American, rhythmanalyst, writer, musician, and curator based in Vancouver, Canada. Under the moniker Speaker Music, he channels the African American modernist tradition of rhythm and soul music as an intellectual site and sound of techno-vernacular expression. He has released three albums on Planet Mu, and is the author of Assembling a Black Counter Culture (Primary Information, 2022).

Steve Goodman (aka Kode9) is a musician, writer and artist based in South London, United Kingdom. He is founder of the record labels Hyperdub and Flatlines, producer of five albums and numerous mix compilations. He is the author of Sonic Warfare (MIT Press,2010), and he co-edited the books Unsound:Undead (Urbanomic Press, 2019) and Sonic Faction (Urbanomic Press, 2024). His sound installations have appeared at Tate Modern and Barbican in London.

Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste is an artist, composer, and performer based in Brooklyn, United States. His practice considers notions of errant relations which thrive across subjectivities. Toussaint-Baptiste is a founding member of the performance collective Wildcat!, and frequently collaborates with performers, dancers, and visual artists. He is often up to no good and trying to do better, at the same time.

The Grand Luxe Hall is located on the second floor of Western Front, which is accessed by a flight of 26 stairs.

What to expect: This sound installation features high- and low-frequency audio at elevated volume levels and is presented in a low-lit environment. Visitors may experience physical vibration, pressure, reduced visibility, and moments of sonic intensity. Ear protection is available, and visitors are free to move through or exit the space at any time. Those sensitive to loud sound or low lighting are encouraged to take care.

Further details about accessibility at Western Front can be found here.

Presented in partnership with Canary Test, Los Angeles with support from the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts Infinite Expansion Grant, and the Canada Council for the Arts.

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