The text of ‘revised dictionary supplement’ (At Sounds Like: 3 Projects, if p then q books, 2021) began as a response to Bruno Munari’s Supplemento al dizionario italiano (1963). Munari assembled a ‘supplement’ of Italian expressions, where facial expression or other gestures were used. My writing started with a homophonic translation of Munari’s multilingual notes, reflecting parallels at work with his photographs of the gestures. Suggestions of equivalence and divergence, of substitution and displacement, directed the sounding of the text. Revision of this translation was guided by a sense of the secrecy, social conformity, and physical tension that the gestural system reflected and perpetuated. Also in the mix was awareness of the aggression, threat and anonymity of social media.
This performance responds to ‘revised dictionary supplement’, using improvised actions, dance, sound, recorded text and gestures. The textual material is treated as a score for movement, as a ground for further inscription, and as an occasion of variant reading. The live event draws attention to the materiality of language, to writing as going on, to (im)possibilities of (mis)communication.
premiére
commissioned by The Arts Institute, University of Plymouth at The House, University of Plymouth; 1930hrs, Tuesday 15th February 2022.
technical support: Melaine Le Bars
photography: Matthew Pontin / Fotonow
comments
“James Joyce meets Tom Yorke”
“Exquisite performance … The shipping forecast, match of the day, Godot mashup.”
“I really liked the way the audience responded to certain gestures – there was a feeling of community in the room! It felt very special given what we’ve all been living through recently. It was so thought-provoking.”
technical specifications
running time: c 40 minutes
tech requirements: black box space, sound system, 4 x LED Plasterers’ Light, 110volt transformer, and general fill lighting;
get in: 1 hour – 1.5 hours
performances
The House, University of Plymouth, Feb 2022
AMATA, Falmouth University, June 2022