The Performance | HollyEarly

To demonstrate my time in learning more about two digital workstations, I decide to put on a performance. This took place a week before hand-in at one of the Performance Art studios. I booked the necessary equipment and room in-advance in the hope of making things run as smoothly as possible.

The event was allocated an hour but the piece itself only lasted 5 minutes, so afterwards I invited the audience to ask questions about how the piece was performed and made, as well as discussing the theme. I allowed an hour for any technical difficulties or setting up problems. As it happened, I had to remap some of the control configurations.

Above is a variation of the performance

During the questions I demonstrated how the visuals and audio were synced via my controls. It was a very natural experience and I realised I could have performed like a musician i.e. improvised. I'm sure with more refinement in using the controls I'd build up the confidence to do so.

I enjoyed including the audience in the event and interesting to here other peoples interpretations or reservations. One person experienced feeling a transition between different emotions and being aware of this transition. To begin with they felt out of place (“this is weird”) to sensations of irritation/uncomfortable (“during the loud noisy parts”), to appreciating the calm at the end of the piece. Receiving this feedback was very rewarding, as I had hoped the work would be relatable with other people’s experiences and encourage their own self-awareness.

In summary my style has come back around to listening awareness but looking internally rather than externally. Previously, I sought to focus my own (and others’) listening engagement with the everyday and nature soundscapes around us. Now I find a calling to explore inner listening: to understand my own thoughts, emotions, reactions and express these through audio or audiovisual art