Cromniomancy

Upon entering Rossi & Rossi’s Hong Kong gallery, one is welcomed by a combination of ambiguous, low-pitched sounds that seem to allude to a world of tranquility and spirituality. Indeed, these sounds are fitting to the exhibition on display, “Cromniomancy,” as the featured artists, Hong Kong-based artists Adrian Wong and Shane Aspegren, are inspired by Cymatics—the study of wave phenomena—and the sacred practice of divination. It is undeniable that the visual and audible attributes of their artwork accentuates the metaphysical exploration of cymatics, as vibrant hues of pinks, blues and purples depict the geometric patterns extracted from sound waves. One can also draw spiritual parallels between the imagery formed by waves to the exhibition’s name “Cromniomancy,” a term used to describe the ancient practice of prophesizing through onions, which, like sound waves, possess a natural repetitive pattern that is at times used to symbolize the eternal. Through the themes of cromniomancy, cymatics and divination, Wong and Aspegren invite visitors to explore their whimsical visual articulations of the intangible and spiritual.

While viewers’ auditory senses are heightened upon first entering the space, they are simultaneously stimulated visually by a series of psychedelic prints. The artists’ direct and scientific labeling of works by its sound frequency clearly illustrates how different ranges of pitch produce a particular sound wave and, thus, a unique visual pattern. Here, one cannot avoid the reference to German physicist and musician Ernst Chladni (1756–1827) and his technique for visualizing the vibrations of sound. Known as “Chladni Plates,” a metal surface is lightly covered in sand and bowed on its edge to show various modes of vibration. Whilst Chladni’s technique illustrates the invisible force field of vibrational energy through sand, Wong and Aspegren heightens this intangible quality by using hypnotic colors to depict the sound waves. This can be seen in 1236 Hz – 4695 Hz (2016), which uses a combination of a purple, electric-blue and a striking hot-pink to illustrate the sound wave created by the eponymous frequency.