hearing shadows with Jean martin
hearing shadows: shown at Brighton University, UK in September 2019 and in Zwitschermaschine gallery in Berlin, Germany in October 2019
hearing shadows
sun and wind come
playing on surfaces
in each movement there is stillness
sound engages the shadows
holding then letting go
over and over
hearing shadows is a 4-channel sound and 2-screen moving image installation. It creates an environment which is both random and mysterious. Whilst the sound and the films were developed for each other, they are also independent and not synchronised. As each element is played in cycles of varying lengths, they create constantly new and unexpected constellations of which the viewer can make sense in their own way. Each of the four 5 minute films were made in a domestic setting where attention was paid to how light of the outside world came in and illuminated the ordinary - Wall, Shelf, Blind, Cupboard. In effect they are movies of nature’s moviemaking. The sounds are a mixture of environmental and electronic sounds as well as recorded performed piano motifs. They are organised in way to create space around the images and suggest a sense of stasis.
hearing shadows is site specific and thus the size and arrangement of screens will be dependent on the space provided. The installation requires 4 speakers, 2 projectors, 2 transparent screens. Ideally the screens will be suspended allowing the films to be viewed from all sides. They can be arranged according to the site specific conditions. The projectors should be arranged in a way that the visitors can walk between and around the screens and do not interfere with the light beams. To make the projections effective the space around them should have dimmed light conditions.
Jean Martin is a composer whose work has been used in a variety of settings including for concert, theatre, dance theatre, documentary film and sound installations.
Wil Pennycook is a writer, photographer and film maker. Formerly a consultant psychotherapist she continues to be interested in the relationship between mental health and creativity.