I presented a session today on place and sound. I discussed my research into site-specific/place-based performance, visual and sound art. I showed some images of different types of place, from physical spaces (my house, different towns I have lived in, physical spaces I liked to visit) through to conceptual and imagined spaces (Google maps, electoral boundaries, imagined futuristic landscapes) and lived and experienced places (memories and experiences of activities and relationships in different places, intimate places and paths I hold in my body instead of my mind). I talked about the ways all of these three types of space need to be thought of together, and how they coexist (examples such as Australian Parliament House, a physical building which is also a conceptual marker of authority and control, and also a home for memories for me of all the times I have been there and the many different things I have done there). I then showed some pictures and videos and played some sound samples where artists are challenging space. Examples included:
UK street artist Banksy’s work on the West Bank Barrier in 2005
We then had a very interesting discussion about the role of sound in making place, how sound carries information, whether it is important to know the context to understand the sound and how we could make sound art that responds to or challenges the spaces we live in. It is a conversation that echoes many of my own research questions and my own arts practice and it was a wonderful opportunity to discuss it with such a diverse and astute group of people.
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ICASP is a Major Collaborative Research Initiative, based at the University of Guelph, sponsored by the SSHRC
