Last day here before flying home tonight. We took a tour of the old part of town near to where I had got the boxes. Lots of little shops that were really interesting. Had a last meet up at the chocolate shop. It has been so easy to get on with everyone – something I was a little worried about. I feel that I have made the very best use of my time here and got so much out of it. A late meal at Zahir’s uncle’s. They are all so generous and lovely. Drive to Ahmedebad airport, fly to Mumbai and then to Heathrow, tube and train home. Isn’t it sad to be leaving?
Here are the contexts of my work but I cannot attach the QR codes ‘for security reasons’. I hope to do one last post with a kind of evaluation.
Three Sounds
These three sound pieces together create a narrative that can only belong to this place. Each sound has a box that contains an object or objects that relates to it. The audio can also be accessed by QR code.
Rice Box
Rice is a staple food of many households the world over. Here, it represents the call to eat and to end the working day. This time was signalled by a gong, a striking of metal which carried over the fields. I was invited to Gopal Baug to strike this gong, a round iron disc hanging from the rafters of a building. This was hit with a hammer. This recording is the story of my hitting the gong.
Thanks to Gopal Baug and Parth for facilitating this sound work.
Bamboo Box
This is the sound of making. The burnt bamboo, which was found in the remains of a fire, was used for the drawing Only Empty of Water. This represents the activities that have taken place during the Winter Narratives residency. Each person on site has a recorded contribution of 8 seconds, which was interwoven to create a composed soundtrack.
These are Astha Patel, Chris Wright, Hannah Marsh, Jagdish, Jenny Bramley, Kamal Pandya, Maneesha Doshi, Natu, Parth, Prantik Chattopadhyay, Roshan Chhabria, Sandhya Gajjar, Santilal, Sashidharan, Sudipta Das, Tarun Chavda, Zahir Shaikh.
Feather Box
Here is the feather of a peahen. Early one morning, I sat and listened to the sounds of the night unfolding into day, the awakening of the birds and monkeys amongst others. Using the resonant space of the round house, I tried to emulate these sounds using a soprano recorder. This sound piece is that mimesis.
Film
Birds Flock Together
The story of Feather Box is the story of this film as I sat and listened to the sounds of the night unfolding into day, the awakening of the birds and monkeys amongst others. I then tried to emulate these sounds using a soprano recorder. This mimesis. was put on a speaker and placed in the woods and then filmed. The aim was to try and entice more creatures to the area. In my mind, there were more birds towards the end of the film but it may have been purely coincidental.
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