Voices at Tate Modern

I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to the newest space at Tate Modern, The Tanks.

"The Tanks are designed to showcase live art, installation and the moving image. The artworks all explore different aspects of the human voice.

Whether used as an instrument, an affirmation of identity, a way of connecting and communicating or for storytelling, the voice is one of the fundamental means of human expression. It can convey meaning through language, be used as pure sound or a combination of both. The works on display show how artists have made use of its versatility to achieve evocative effects."

The installation by Janet Cardiff was a spectacular sonic experience.



"Janet Cardiff’s Forty Part Motet is an audio installation reworking the sixteenth-century choral work Spem in Alium by English composer Thomas Tallis

Janet Cardiff worked with the Salisbury Cathedral Choir to record 40 individual singers, playing each voice through its own corresponding speaker. The speakers are carefully positioned in eight different groups of five, responding to the structure of Tallis’s complex vocal piece, or motet. Each group forms a choir of five singers with different vocal ranges: a bass, baritone, tenor, alto and soprano. The eight choirs produce harmonies which blend into a polyphonic landscape of sound. Visitors are encouraged to walk among the speakers to hear the individual voices, as well as the immersive sound of the motet. Cardiff said: ‘I am interested in how sound may physically construct a space in a sculptural way and how a viewer may choose a path through this physical yet virtual space.’

Sung in Latin, the first line ‘Spem in alium nunquam habui …’ translates as ‘I have never put my hope in any other but in you, O God of Israel’. Although Tallis wrote his music for a Christian setting, Cardiff has shown her audio installation in a variety of spaces, both religious and secular. The artist is interested in the ways in which music can evoke different emotions."

Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains at V & A Museum

I have my Dad to thank for my love of the music of Pink Floyd. As a child I was introduced to a wide range of music, including Mike and the Mechanics, David Bowie, The Beautiful South, UB40, The Police, Eurythmics, Prefab Sprout, REM, and Fairport Convention. I can't say that I enjoyed all of his music, but I am grateful to him for bringing me up with such an eclectic mix of sounds. 

It is as I have grown older that I have been able to appreciate the lyrics of Pink Floyd for what they are. The story behind the band and the band members is an interesting one. There are only a few bands that are worth of such an extensive exhibition and, as the David Bowie exhibition at the V&A Museum showed, if the story is a good one, then an amazing exhibition can follow.

The Pink Floyd exhibition at the V&A Museum is full of material from artwork, posters, memorabilia, instruments, props, set designs, album designs, interviews with the musicians, song lyrics, videos and of course, plenty of music.

The exhibition is ordered chronologically, taking you through the history of the band, and focusing on some of the important aspects and influences. The psychedelic beginnings, politics, their use of lighting, circular screens and set design are all covered in the material in the exhibition.

The band embraced Roger Walters idea of the everyday problems of modern life, and made Dark Side of the Moon to address such issues as money, death, violence and madness. 

I was overwhelmed by the wealth of material that was included in the exhibition, and I spent over 3 hours enjoying what was on offer.

The many video interviews provide unique insights into things that happened behind the scenes. The story of the escaping inflatable pig is one that will always amuse me!

Even with all the mod cons of present day, the visuals they were producing for their shows years ago are top notch. Going to one of their concerts was a feast for the eyes and ears, and this certainly is the case for the exhibition as a whole.

Although the fee is rather high in terms of exhibition entry prices, I feel that given the amount of material and high tech equipment included in the show, it is understandable why that kind of price is required to make it possible. It is, in my opinion, money well spent.

The final room in the exhibition is a surround sound and visual delight. It is as though you are at one of the concerts.

I can only urge people to go to this exhibition. It is one of the most powerful museum exhibits I have ever experienced, and, although I think it helps that I am a Pink Floyd music fan, there are plenty of things to interest anyone not necessarily a fan of their music.

Forms in Space…by Light (in Time) by Cerith Wyn Evans at Tate Britain

Forms in Space…by Light (in Time) is the 2017 Tate Britain Commission in which a contemporary British artist is invited to respond to the Duveen Galleries at Tate Britain.

"The artwork is made from almost 2km of neon lighting, suspended from the ceiling and configured into straight lines, sweeping curves and spiralling forms."

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/tate-britain-commission-2017

A lot can happen in a day - performance

The evening  performance session provided a natural close for the one-day workshop.

Having spent the morning reading and discussing the publication, A lot can happen in fifteen minutes, in the reading group, the afternoon spoken word workshop focussed on how to transform words that exist on a page into a spoken word performance. The group developed a spoken word performance using one of the texts within the publication as a starting point.

                             













I began the evening by providing a brief introduction to the publication and an overview of the workshop. I performed a version of 'As planned', one of the texts in the publication that the group chose to work with, and this was closely followed by the group performing what we had worked on during the afternoon workshop. 

















A question and answer session then followed, and the audience were very generous in offering feedback and comments.



Question included 

What were your motivations for writing?
How did this work develop out of your Masters studies?
How did your family react to being written about?

I ended the event by performing another of the texts within the publication, The flat was in sight. 

It seems that the workshop and performance event were really positive experiences, both for myself, the workshop members and the audience. I would like to thank all that were involved, including Alice and Sophie from Turf Gallery and Katharine from Disobedient films for documenting the day. Many thanks also to those who attended the workshop and the performance.

My publication can be purchased at Turf Projects or online http://unstapledpress.bigcartel.com/product/a-lot-can-happen-in-fifteen-minutes

A lot can happen in a day - Spoken Word Workshop

The second part of my workshop at Turf Projects was a Spoken Word workshop. Leading on from the Reading Group in the morning session, I gave the group a number of options about the dirrection they wanted the workshop to take. Given that the group would be performing the outcome of the session, they decided that they were most interested in using the text within the publication as a starting point (as opposed to writing their own text), and thinking about how to reinterpret it and deliver it as a spoken word performance.



The text chosen for the performance was called 'As planned', and it was written in two columns, with each column suggesting a different character. It had previously been performed by two people, each of whom read one column of the text.





The group reinterpreted the text and identified there being four characters - a father figure, a mother figure, the subject, the internal thoughts of the subject.



We began by taking each sentence and identifying which character was speaking.





Most of the text remained the same as the original, but we did change the tense used by the internal thoughts of the subject.



Once we had identified the different characters, we tested out assigning different roles to different people in the group.



After some experimentation, we agreed on the line up for the performance. 

The natural interpretation was that the subject was younger than the father and mother figure, so we decided to mix that up and use one of the older members of the group to perform the character of the subject.





We then tested out the positioning of the performers in relation to the audience.



We decided where the audience would sit and set out the seating as it would be for the performance. 

We positioned one of the characters (the internal thoughts of the subject) amongst the audience so as to differentiate it from the other characters.



We filmed ourselves rehearse and re-watched the footage so as to identify any habits that were problematic or ways that the performance could be improved.

A lot can happen in a day - reading group

One of the galleries selling my publication, A lot can happen in fifteen minutes is Turf Projects, the first entirely artist-run contemporary art space in Croydon, South London.



Turf Projects are a charity organisation working to support the development of artists, curators and the public through an ambitious programme of free exhibitions, workshops and events.



Established by creatives with a personal connection to the borough, Turf now comprises; a gallery space exhibiting work from emerging & established artists; an artists workspace & events space; and an affordable studio provision for artists & makers.



In an attempt to prompt dialogue and discussion about the themes raised in my publication, to get feedback from readers about my publication, and to think of new ways of presenting the text within the publication, I developed a workshop to take place at Turf Projects in their Workspace and event space.



The workshop was broken down into three separate, but linked, sections. The reading group in the morning was an opportunity for the group to discuss the content of the publication. The group read a number of the texts; sometimes the same text was read, but by different people. This highlighted the different ways in which the same material can be interpreted.



We tried reading some of the texts as a group, and others we read just by one person. We spoke about the difference between reading them aloud and silently. I was reassured by the extent to which people related to the content within the publication. Although the texts refer to highly personal experiences, they have aspects that resonate with others due to the overarching emotions or themes.

Bethlem Museum of the Mind

On my recent trip to London for my event at Turf Projects in Croydon, I paid a visit to the Bethlem Museum of the Mind.



Bethlem Museum of the Mind is situated within the Bethlem Royal Hospital grounds, in a stunning Art Deco building shared with the Bethlem Gallery. The museum cares for an internationally renowned collection of archives, art and historic objects, which together offer an unparalleled resource to support the history of mental healthcare and treatment. It was formally opened by artist Grayson Perry in March 2015.

Bethlem Royal Hospital was founded in 1247 and was the first institution in the UK to specialise in the care of the mentally ill. The hospital continues to provide in-patient care as part of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and has been based in south London since 1930.



I was specifically interested in research pertaining to my current investigations into auditory hallucinations, but found the museum to be interesting on many levels.




http://museumofthemind.org.uk/

Manchester International Festival - Day 2

We began our day of Manchester International Festival exhibitions at the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA) where there was an impressive audio-visual installation by Samson Young.

'One of Two Stories, or Both (Field Bagatelles) is a newly commissioned radio series and gallery installation inspired by tales of Chinese migrants. Sound artist and composer Samson Young took visitors and listeners on a journey inspired by the myths and legendary tales of 17th-century Chinese travellers making their way to Europe on foot.'

'The work began with a five part radio series performed by a cast of actors, artists and musicians. Following the radio series, the gallery presents a multi-layered installation incorporating material from the radio performances to provide another intriguing perspective to these stories, and investigate how journeys are remembered and retold.' 

A curtain rail with translucent curtains spans the perimeter of the gallery, and these are operated manually, periodically moving around the space. As the blinds opened and closed automatically, the changing light conditions reminded me of the daily cycle of light conditions and the passage of time.

In the back gallery space was a group exhibition, From Ocean to Horizon, a group exhibition featuring artists presenting unique perspectives on living and working in present-day Hong Kong.

http://www.cfcca.org.uk/

I then ventured to two galleries that I had never visited before: Paper Gallery and PS Mirabel, both located on Mirabel Street close to Victoria train station.

'PAPER is an artist-led, commercial gallery based in Manchester and represents a range of emerging and mid-career artists whose practice is based around the medium of paper. This ranges from drawing, painting, and printmaking to artist's books, video, and performance. The gallery opened in August 2012 and has a regular programme of exhibitions, presenting the work of gallery artists as well as providing a platform for outside curatorial projects. In 2013 PAPER instigated an Artist-in-Residence programme, Exploring PAPER, and in 2014 a mentoring scheme for artists based in the North-West of England, funded by Arts Council England.'

The current exhibition, The Surface of Things, is produced in collaboration with LA-based Durden & Ray and was part of the Manifest festival. It is an exhibition exploring contemporary Abstract painting.

Featured artists: Lisa Denyer / Frances Disley / EC / Brendan Fletcher / Roni Feldman / Jenny Hager / Sharon Hall / Vincent Hawkins / David Leapman / Mali Morris / Max Presneill

http://www.paper-gallery.co.uk/

Next door to Paper Gallery, PS Mirabel is another artist run project and exhibition space. Small world is the gallery's open call exhibition in which all the works need to be no larger than 20x20x20cm.

http://www.psmirabel.co.uk/


My next destination was Castlefield Gallery. The gallery has a strong commitment to developing emerging contemporary artists and practice. 'Its ambitious curated exhibitions programme responds to national and international trends, promoting artists at key stages of their careers. Central to CG’s activities is an artist development programme that has launched major commission-winning artists.

Castlefield Gallery’s vision is for the North to be a place where artists can live and produce work, while presenting their work in national and international contexts. Its mission is to nurture talent, explore cultural trends and deepen the audience’s relationship to contemporary art.

The current exhibition presents a new body of work by Manchester-based painter Lindsey Bull, alongside a new mixed media installation and performance by London-based collective Plastique Fantastique.'

http://www.castlefieldgallery.co.uk/


We then met a couple of Manchester based artists, Chris and Kelvin who took us to Title Date Duration. 

This space has been created to focus on the relationship between the art work and the viewer. The artist's name does not appear until the viewer has seen the exhibition, therefore avoiding the reading of the work being determined or influenced by the artist's reputation or image. I think this is a really genuine way to help ensure that the discussion around the work focuses on the work. 'It allows the art work presented to only be concerned with the act of viewing, and the will of the individual to view it. The programme intends to provide an opportunity for reflection and discussion.'

http://titledateduration.com/


The group then called at HOME where the exhibition, La Movida was presented in the main gallery space.

“It’s difficult to speak of La Movida and explain it to those who didn’t live those years. We weren’t a generation; we weren’t an artistic movement; we weren’t a group with a concrete ideology. We were simply a bunch of people that coincided in one of the most explosive moments in the country.” – Pedro Almodóvar

'This pioneering contemporary visual art group exhibition takes the artistic and socio-cultural movement La Movida (literally “the movement”) of post-Franco Spain as its thematic heart. Suddenly the forbidden arenas of politics and sexuality are open season for public debate and creative communities. Excess, clubbing, drugs, artistic freedom, gay rights, pornography and more all collided in an outpouring of freedom from suppression and a desire for making up on lost time in the early 80s in Madrid.'

Upstairs, Eden Kötting & Anonymous Bosch presented work.

The paintings and collages in this exhibition were inspired by the Edith Walks project which itself was inspired by the life of Edith Swan Neck. Eden Kötting was born in 1988 with Joubert Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. She grew up in London and developed a keen interest in drawing and painting. In 1996 she appeared in her father’s experimental feature film Gallivant along with her great grandmother Gladys.

Anonymous Bosch produces work that 'fulfills the important post-medieval role of witness/chronicler to Andrew Kötting’s troubadour band on their long march in the spectral footsteps of King Harold, from one grave in Waltham Abbey via another in Battle to a sculpture at St Leonards-on-Sea (during production of Kötting’s latest film-essay, Edith Walks).'

https://homemcr.org/

My final gallery for the day was the Whitworth Gallery, where I literally had a whistlestop tour of the current exhibitions including No End to Enderby by Graham Eatough and Stephen Sutcliffe, Cornelia Parker: Verso and John Akomfrah's film Vertigo Sea.

http://www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk/

Colin Stetson at MIF as part of Dark Matter, curated by Mary Anne Hobbs

I am a regular BBC Radio 6 Music listener, and one of my favourite DJs is Mary Anne Hobbs, who hosts a morning programme every Saturday and Sunday as well as the Thursday edition of 6 Music Recommends. It was a few months ago I that first heard Mary Anne Hobbs play the music of the American saxophonist and multireedist, Colin Stetson.

"Over the years Stetson has worked extensively live and in studio with a wide range of bands and musicians including Tom Waits, Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, TV On The Radio, Feist, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Bill Laswell, Evan Parker, The Chemical Brothers, Animal Collective, Hamid Drake, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Angelique Kidjo, Fink, and David Gilmore. Meanwhile he has developed an utterly unique voice as a soloist, principally on saxophones and clarinets, his intense technical prowess matched by his exhilarating and emotionally gripping skills as a songwriter.

Stetson’ s astounding physical engagement with his instruments (chiefly bass and alto saxophones) produces emotionally rich and polyphonic compositions that transcend expectations of what solo horn playing can sound like. 

Stetson is equally at home in the avant jazz tradition of players who have pushed the boundaries of the instrument through circular breathing, embouchure, etc. (i.e. Evan Parker, Mats Gustafsson) and at the nexus of noise/drone/minimalist music that encompasses genres like dark metal, post-rock and contemporary electronics (i.e. Tim Hecker, Ben Frost – both of whom have mixed or remixed Stetson recordings)."

http://www.colinstetson.com/bio-1/

As part of the Manchester International Festival, Mary Anne Hobbs curated Dark Matter, "eight immersive shows from pioneering national, international and Manchester-based musicians." I was very fortunate that my visit to Manchester coincided with Colin Stetson's Dark Matter gig.

It was like nothing I have ever experienced before. The sounds produced felt like they were coming from an unearthly being, and Stetson has a way of making it seem like the instruments are part of his own anatomy. Using specialist circular breathing, he is able to sustain notes for a long period of time. I was really close to the front of the stage and was entranced by the strength it took just to hold the instruments, let alone play them in such an intense and prolonged fashion.

I would urge anyone who is on board for a totally unique sonic experience to check out Colin Stetson play live - it is something very special. But choose who you go with carefully - it is not easy listening and will challenge the ears!

To listen to highlights from Dark Matter at Manchester International Festival, including live tracks from Kojey Radical, Holly Herndon, Colin Stetson, Paleman and The Haxan Cloak, click the link below.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08xkzh5