Herman Kolgen

Herman Kolgen is a multidisciplinary artist from Quebec; he is mostly famous for his audiovisual creations. He lives and works in Montreal and shows his projects all around the world. He actively focuses on the relation between sound and image by creating installations, audiovisual works, performances and sound sculptures.

The Gare SNCF de Rennes (Rennes railway station) is situated in the south of the city center. The building was completed in 1857 in order to receive the Paris-Brest railway. Then it was completely renovated in 1992 by the architect Thierry Le Berre to launch the TGV Atlantique. The railway station as it is nowadays has a real estate facility with offices, services, a second access from the south, and connections with other means of transportation (buses, subway) making it a major transport hub of Rennes.

Herman Kolgen went all over the railway station in October 2010, equipped with several –sometimes hidden– microphones. He worked in public areas as well as restricted ones, and along the rails. He also recorded texts read by Dominique Godderis, a long-standing friend of his. During the presentation of his work, Herman Kolgen made use of his device Geographic Words so as to spatialize sounds with speakers located among the audience. Gares & Connexions offered to set the occurrences of this performance at 1am and 2am; magical and extraordinary moments of the railway happened then.