Proximities: Local histories/Global entanglements,
2005
Applied paintwork, multi-channel soundscape
dimensioned to the architecture
Sonia Leber and David Chesworth in collaboration with Simeon Nelson
Proximities: Local histories/Global entanglements,
Commission for William Barak Bridge, Melbourne, 2006 Commonwealth Games
24 channel audio, 56 speakers, 4 sensors, applied paintwork, 60 grilles
Simeon Nelson's visual element is a calligraphic motif travelling the
length of the soundscape. Its arcs and tendrils frame the mingling
voices, unrolling in syncopation with the dynamic variations within the
soundscape. The changing inflection and gesture of line is derived from
the ornamental systems of many cultures around the world.
Sonia Leber and David Chesworth's soundscape is conceived as a sonic
corridor of human voices. The project is built up around recordings
made by the artists of people from the 53 Commonwealth nations who
are now living in Australia.
Each individual voice contributes a distinctive singing style with specific
melodic and rhythmic ornamentation shaped over centuries of cultural
tradition. The artwork can be seen as an imagined crowd through which
actual crowds of pedestrians pass for a time between destinations.
How do we live with cultural difference? In shared spaces and border
cultures, proximities test our capacity for ethical behaviour.
On William Barak Bridge, 'Proximities' can be seen as an imagined crowd
though which actual crowds of visitors along the bridge pass from time to
time during the Commonwealth Games and beyond.
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