First Thoughts
Soundscape in South London, rejected due to practical difficulties.
Susan Hiller
At the Susan Hiller exhibition at Tate Britain I was particularly struck by her audio/visual work "Monument". this sowed the seed of an idea, a graveyard audio walk.http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=21187&searchid=9519
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| Monument by Susan Hiller Image courtesy of Tate |
Audio Obscura: Lavinia Greenlaw
Another inspiration for me was an audio walk at St Pancras station. Wearing sound excluding headphones you meandered around the busy station for about 20 minutes listening to snatches of overheard conversations and fictional narrative which melded into the actual visual/sonic environment. It was very immersive and also disorientating, trying to work out reality and fiction.Janet Cardiff
Through the autumn term as I worked on my dissertation I became increasingly interested in Janet Cardiff's sound walks, follow the link to listen to them.Further Thoughts
I switched venues to the Jewelry Quarter in Birmingham.Rationale:
- Personal connections and prior knowledge of the area.
- I was particularly interested in two cemeteries which can be found there: Key Hill and Warstone Lane. The history of the cemeteries has more potential for a coherent narrative
- They are both very atmospheric and contain the remains of many of Birmingham's important historical figures as well as public graves containing up to fifty coffins with the mortal remains of less affluent people.
- The cemeteries have fallen into disrepair and decay which I also find interesting.
- I realised the importance of a tightly defined area which works with a timed walk/ audio.
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