Introduction

In their exhibition at CON10UR, Double Voiced, elephy listens to the human voice. A manifestation of the speaker’s distinctiveness, the voice resonates in reciprocal communication with other voices and amplifies through collectivity, opening the possibility of a different mode of political existence. Rehearsal for Future Conversations is a one-day workshop in the framework of elephy's show at CON10UR that brings together artists, thinkers, and practitioners working with the voice in different forms. They all share insights and experiences from their various practices to inspire each other during a moment of community. The event is open to the public upon registration.

elephy organises this event together with Kunsthal Extra City, CON10UR and LUCA School of Arts as part of the SLARG 2023 research week.

With the generous support of: Kunsthal Extra City, LUCA Breakout, SOFAM, and MORPHO.

elephy

It consists of four artists who make audiovisual work: Rebecca Jane Arthur, Chloë Delanghe, Eva Giolo, Christina Stuhlberger.

Just as the four artists support each other within their shared production and distribution platform, elephy, their works resonate with each other when presented in one space. They share a fascination for the materiality of film and the tactility of sound, contributing to the sensory atmosphere that colours the exhibition space. The playful, multifaceted scenography invites you to discover their individual artistic practices and explore the connections between them.

Registration

Please register for the workshop via this link.

The participation fee is 15 Euro and includes a vegetarian lunch by quitapena.

Note: Sint Lucas Antwerpen students or researchers can participate for free but must register!

When subscribing please notify that you are a Sint Lucas Antwerpen student or researcher.

Schedule

10:00 elephy: Welcome and round of introduction

10:15 Sonia Pastecchia: Breathing and Speaking with Intention I

In a spirit of playfulness, filmmaker and voice coach Sonia Pastecchia will help us understand that voice is breath. Through simple exercises borrowed from singing and stage expression techniques, we'll see that intention adds meaning to words. The first session will focus on the breath and the sound it engenders. The second session towards the end of the day will focus on working with intentions: what is the emotional reality hidden in the words spoken?

10:45 Joint reading from various texts selected by elephy

• Adriana Cavarero: For More Than One Voice – Towards a Philosophy of Vocal Expression
• Clara Schulman: Chicanes

11:15 Break

11: 30 Maggessi/Morusiewicz: Wormholes

Maggessi/Morusiewicz, a Vienna-based duo of researching artists, present their practice that currently revolves around two simultaneously-running keywords: “wormholes” and “archives.” The artists will invite the audience to step into a polyvocal portal of affect, cruising through clusters of film-based references to sci-fi, pre-AIDS gay-art porn, and women’s cinema archives.

12:00 Mona Hedayati: Human vs. Machine Logic: Constructing Affectivity beyond Voice

Iranian-Canadian artist Mona Hedayati’s interdisciplinary research practice draws on computer art, posthumanism, sound design, and affect studies. In this session, she will lay down her artistic strategy of deconstructing the voice through audio recordings integrated into performative pieces. Hedayati will delve into the codes of affective-embodied sensor-to-sound performances that aim to tap into the senses rather than the logical operation of image and language to communicate the ineffability of her experience as a migrant.

12:45 Joint lunch for all participants by quitapena

14:00 Laszlo Umbreit: Recording voice is a nightmare

In many soundtracks, voice is the most common object of analytical listening (i.e. interpretation and meaning) where it often adheres to aesthetic conventions of mainstream aural culture. Sound designer and musician Laszlo Umbreit challenges these conventions, derived from mental projections on how a voice should sound, by opening up the many realities in which the sound of voice can exist.

This talk elaborates on the process and technical possibilities for voice recording, why it is a difficult task and proposals for getting it done. It shines a light on the choices artists can make to define their own aesthetic approach for voice, and beyond, in moving image.

14:45 Sonia Pastecchia: Breathing and Speaking with Intention II

15:00 elephy: Conclusion and joint visit of Double Voiced at Kunsthal Extra City.