Geolocative new media performance
Date: Sunday, 20 June 2021 at 20.00 p.m. and 20.45 p.m.
Location: Vilharjeva cesta (near railway underpass)
Duration: 30 min
Applications
A limited number of participants. Applications at cona@cona.si. The work is bilingual (in Slovene and English).
About the perfrormance
A walk along the railway tracks, with the help of an app and headphones, leads a viewer, a wanderer and an eavesdropper into a performative space. The work was created during the time of the epidemic when all public life had come to a standstill. As a result, the thick layer of the all-encompassing and constant noise disappeared, the existence of which we only really became aware of once it was gone. The authors captured this period, marked by weeks of silence and the gradual return of noise, with their recording equipment, walked paths and by discovering local micro spaces. The result of their research is the existent locative performance, which, through the absence of noise, tells a tale of future space. By using geolocation tools, the performance reflects on an experiential experience of landscape and sound and, in these complicated times, brings forth thoughts about the potential of a degraded space from the perspective of a society incapable of dialogue. The latter is using its last atoms of strength to depict dominance over the planet, while plants on the other side are blossoming, intertwining and even consoling, soothing, silencing and covering the all-pervasive species. The rhythm of walking, listening-in to the transitional space, a path that leads away from the overburdened city, and of listening to the degraded, waiting spaces, which are being taken back by nature, form the stance of this period of time … before it ends.
The authors have developed the work with the help of the geolocation tool ECHOES, developed by Echoes Lab. More than 30 geolocation points, connected by sound files and in combination with the available navigation tools, form the subtle dramaturgy of the overall acoustic image of the work Sandbox at a specific location.
Instructions
Peskovnik/Sandbox is a location-bound sound performance, which you can also experience individually. For an individual experience, you need a smartphone with an Android or iOS operating system, the app Echoes (download it free from Google Play or the Apple Store) and quality headphones. In the pre-installed app Echoes on your phone find the work Peskovnik/Sandbox and head out to the starting point (the area north of the tracks at Ljubljana’s railway station), precisely marked on the map and at the location itself. The geolocative performance can be experienced in real-time (by using your mobile data plan), or you can pre-download the whole project to your phone. Once you are at the location, physically follow the path and points marked on the map. We suggest that you study the path, which is otherwise simple enough before you head out because we discourage you from looking at your phone screen while you are taking the stroll (also due to some uneven terrain). Rather, focus on listening to the soundscape and observing your surroundings.
Previous presentations
- premiere at the Is it working? festival: Tue 25 Aug 2020 at 9.00 a.m. and Wed 26 Aug 2020 at 7.30 p.m.
Voice interpretation: Irena Pivka (SI)
Voice interpretation: Jana Wilcoxen (EN)
Translation: Katja Kosi
Sound composition: Brane Zorman
Thanks: Josh Kopeček, Ricardo Climent
Production: Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory, CONA Institute
Coproduction: NOVARS Research Centre – University of Manchester, ECHOES
Supported by the Municipality of Ljubljana, Department for Culture and Ministry of Public Administration. The project is part of EASTN-DC Network, which is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
