Conceptual artist Ceal Floyer is known for taking everyday situations and familiar objects, and reconfiguring them to achieve a sense of the absurd, alter our perceptions, or more simply, elicit a profound emotional response as is the case for her sound installation ‘Til I Get It Right.
First shown at dOCUMENTA (13), Germany in 2012, the piece is currently in the Museum of Contemporary Art as part of their ongoing South Stairwell Sound Series. The sound installation itself is surprisingly straightforward. Floyer takes a short clip from a famous country song by Tammy Wynette from 1972 with the lyrics: “So I’ll just keep on falling in love ‘til I get it right”, and edits out the phrase “falling in love”, allowing the listener to insert their own feelings, anxieties, and meaning onto the phrase. Set to loop indefinitely like a record player needle stuck in a faulty groove of a vinyl, the installation is burrowed within a stairwell of the MOCA, a place of transition and movement. As visitors walk through, in between destinations, the sound echoes through the space; an earworm, a repeated mantra that sticks with you even long after you’ve left. Floyer’s simple rephrasing of a song lyrics invites listeners into a personal introspection on failure, yet persistence.
Rebekah Barona
*Exhibition information: Ceal Floyer, ‘Til I Get it Right, September 8, 2024 – February 23, 2025, Museum of Contemporary Art, 158 Sterling Rd, Toronto. Museum hours: Wed – Thu & Sat – Sun 11 am – 6 pm; Fri 11 am – 9 pm.