@ chapter stiwdio and taff barrage
September 2, midday- 8 pm.

SIMON WHITEHEAD, BARNABY OLIVER AND STIRLING STEWARD

Mapping a journey around the River Taff, Somasonics is part of an ongoing research project concerned with the live mediation of sound elements from remote sites to rooms in urban centres.

On Saturday 2nd September join us at Chapter and enter the mix of sonic comings and goings from the Taff Barrage.
FREE

"Last year in Cardiff, a friend told me that on his journey to work each morning, walking alongside the river, he had become aware that the usual ebb and flow of the river had changed. The Taff was now a level flow of water down towards the sea. There was a sadness in this, an absence..and as he leaves his house each morning,no longer will he ask himself the question, ‘what will the river be saying today'..as now the river always seems to say the same thing…

This illustrates the subtle, human and often hidden implications that the building of the barrage has had. Effectively the animating pulse of the city has been altered, the cosmology of the capital city usurped.

Is this symbolic' In the rush to reinvent the nation, are we marginalising the very resources that have shaped the physical and cultural ecologies of Cardiff? The Taff is no longer a tidal river, governed by the phases of the moon, the pull of the sea and the evolving channel of the river..apart from the physical implications of this change on the Taff, its sources and tributaries, do we miss the voice of the river in the heart of our capital city? In the creation of a waterfront to die for, we should be careful that it is not the spirit of the river that is dying; and a part of ourselves…

In somasonicspirit#2, we invite you to contemplate your relationship with, and memories of, the river Taff. During the afternoon, via mobile phone and hydrophones(underwater microphones) transmissions will be made to the installation from the bay barrage. Received in the space at Chapter, the transmissions , along with the ambience of the space, will be picked up by microphones and recycled back into the sound system after a 7 minute delay. Resulting in a shifting texture of past and present events, an interaction between the sounds of the river , the acoustics of the space and the presence of the viewer. Dancer Stirling Steward will move through the space at intervals. In this spirit, we invite you to become part of this research, to leave your mark, and in the act of making a paper boat, to make a wish for the river. At the end of this residency, the paper boats you leave in the space will be taken and launched into the river Taff.. somasonicspirit is a ‘between nature’ commission; explorations in ecology and performance. Lancaster University.

OTHER EVENTS:
somasonic walk; on Sunday 3 September at 1pm we invite you to join us for a walk, and a boat making picnic in Bute park, on the new footbridge. We will make more boats, launch them into the river, and follow them downstream.. Some food and drink will be provided, and if you would like; bring your lunch to share..

somasonictesting.. Saturday 9 September at 7pm At the culmination of this residency, there will be a composite performance of movement, image and sound gathered during our research, including a discussion.
PLEASE COME TO ANY OF THESE EVENTS, BRING A GUEST. CHILDREN ARE ESPECIALLY WELCOME.