Ghost Tapes and Sonic Weapons: Sung Tieu’s “In Cold Print”

Specters of the old and new Cold Wars haunt this first institutional show by the Vietnam-born Sung Tieu. A wall of metal mesh and concrete cruciform pillars divided the gallery, recalling simultaneously the postwar partition of Berlin—where the artist is based—and today’s global obsession with border security. The sensation of immediate threat was enforced by the five-channel sound piece In Cold Print (2020), a sequence of white-noise hisses, cricket chirps, whirring fans, and squelches that, true to the warning posted at the entrance, quickly induced a headache. The disturbing soundscape is inspired by a sonic weapon the United States government claims was used against its embassy personnel in Havana (and later China). Text on newspaper-style spreads displayed on five screens describes the mysterious health problems and brain-scan abnormalities reported. This scientifically unexplained “Havana syndrome” has been seized on by members of the Trump administration who call for a return to a Cold War-style embargo of Cuba. Tieu links this incident to the history of US psychological operations (PSYOPS): one screen reports on the Vietnam War’s Operation Wandering Soul, where tapes of wailing “ghosts” of Vietnamese soldiers were played in combat zones to demoralize the Viet Cong.

For Exposure to Havana Syndrome (2020), Tieu was voluntarily subjected to a reconstruction of the alleged sonic weapon before having a brain scan; the resulting images were etched onto mirrors installed along one wall. The beauty of the work disguises its sinister undertones—the mirrors are of the kind used in prison cells, alluding to the continued application of PSYOPS against those detained by the US on suspicion of terrorism, while black spots on the scans imply aberrations in Tieu’s own brain caused by the sound weapon. Around the gallery a US Army hat, pilot’s jumpsuit, and duffle bags create the impression that the space has been hurriedly vacated. Concealed in these items are the speakers from which In Cold Print plays, creating a haunting effect.

Tieu’s presentation fit with the contemporary artistic practice, typified by the likes of Lawrence Abu Hamdan, of documenting the intensification of technological advancements designed for psychological control. Yet by exposing herself and the audience to a version of the “weapon,” Tieu moved beyond reconstruction or reportage to produce a more visceral experience. The artist’s invoking of historical and current threat through seemingly dispassionate forms made it all the more chilling.

Sung Tieu’s “In Cold Print” was scheduled to run at Nottingham Contemporary until May 3, 2020. Please check the exhibition web page for up-to-date information in light of Covid-19.

To read more of ArtAsiaPacific’s articles, visit our Digital Library.