Review: The Tower of Babel : Signs of Life - Melbourne International Biennial 1999 Download and Print in Acrobat John Mackinnon A sure indication that there are signs of life is to listen for sound. The 1999 Melbourne International Biennial included a number of artists using sound components in their installations, but how this acoustic material was meant to be read in relation to the work posed a few problems. Especially when what is otherwise known as, say, music, is labelled a 'sound component'' in art, the volume of sonic babel goes up a notch. A familiar use of sound in art works is the cinematic paradigm of videos such as Susan Philipsz (Ireland) 'A Song Apart' or Smith/Stewarts (England/Ireland) 'Static', that rely on the soundtracks, and essentially its contents, as an interpretative device; to enhance visual components and an understanding of the work. Ugo Rondinone (Italian) went further and explored this cinematic idea in 'Shadow of Falling Stars', using it to contrive a point of intersection between sound and vision. Looking out through his arbitrary rosy view of the cityscape, while listening to the morose repetitive song, allowed an oscillation between them, like being embraced inside a live video.