Homofonia

Interactive Live Art Event
at the Britisih Library, Feb 2005
Commissioned by the British Library as part of a Pearson Creative Research Fellowship


Eight actors aged 12 to 70 were transformed into 'human gramophones' who performed pieces inspired by recordings of 'nonsense' in the English language from the Drama & Literature collection of the Sound Archive.

The source material ranged from historical recordings of experimental literature read by their authors (James Joyce, Gertrude Stein, Edith Sitwell, etc) or interpreted by acclaimed voice actors (Peter Pears, David Davis, etc) to recordings of 'sound poetry' from the 70s and recordings by British comedians (Spike Milligan, etc).

The limitations and artefacts of sound recording technologies were also as much a part of the work as the words themselves: the 'human gramophones' hissed, skipped, slowed down or got caught in a groove.

It was up to the audience to keep winding up the 'human gramophones' and to place their fingers on the records to play them.
A sonic garden was thus created in the centre of the British Library, with a range of voices coming from different directions, intoning, muttering, singing, proclaiming, etc... nonsense in English.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• homofonia
• ming
• wong
• nonsense
• british
• library

[sylvestermeow]

ruff!

[ArGBcymes]

Te cale gowno z zachodu do polski przychodzi! Caly Zachod smierdzi pedalstwem.

[tom666blue]

I dream about polish money going there...

[squidlyj]

amazing

[Dangooner]

This is where british library money goes!

[LeboviciAB84]

How truly, truly odd. Those poor actors.