The Tell-Tale Heart
The Tell-Tale Heart is a triangular narrow room with black walls, measuring 3 meters in size, containing a kinetic installation inside. Each wall has tracks on it, and there are several candlelights on the track rails. As a steel ball rolls down the rails, it hits wire instruments on the candles, extinguishing the flames. Simultaneously, the ball strikes steel marbles placed over steel plates, producing sharp sounds whenever a flame is extinguished. The acceleration increases as the ball rolls, eventually engulfing the narrow room in total darkness and silence.
This installation visually and aurally recreates the psychological changes of the protagonist who commits murder in Edgar Allan Poe's novel, The Tell-Tale Heart. It depicts the escalation of emotions leading to a sudden shift, represented by the accelerating ball, the analog light sources of the candles, and the auditory elements.