NOWISWHENWEARE
NOWISWHENWEARE is an exhibition that was shown in October to accompany the BFI film festival. I was introduced to this exhibition by my lecturer Jessica Marlowe and wanted to check it out. The artist is Andrew Schneider who is know in the film industry for his works on The Sopranos (1999) and Northern Exposure (1990) as a producer. However, this installation shows a totally different side to his creative practice, one that is far more intimate and experimental.
What it’s about
NOWISWHENWEARE is a new interactive theatrical installation that pushes this idea to its literal extreme. An unseen narrator guides each participant through an individualized journey into a precisely programmed matrix of light – and the cosmos of themselves. Part meditation, part exploration, the stars draws visitors into a hyper-focus of the present. The stars traces every decision that you have ever made as a contributing factor to being ‘here’ and being ‘now’.
Andrew Schneider
Andrew Schneider is mostly interested in the story telling of humans, lots of his work and art look at this idea of that when people tell stories to one another, something universal opens up, we recognise ourselves in the experiences of others. I was first introduced into his work from his most recent exhibition NOWISWHENWEARE. “Andrew’s work uses new and old, high and low tech—from Wave Field Synthesis arrays and Volumetric Lighting displays to literal smoke and mirrors. He is interested in the edges of human perception, using science as a blueprint for staging, and above all, the question of—how does it make you feel?” IMDB. As he puts it, he is interested in the edges of human perception and in how art makes you feel before you even understand it.
How it made me feel
I do think about this exhibition still now after its been almost a month since I’ve seen. I think for him it really has this human element to it that draws you into the now. When you first go in you have to give you’re eyes times to adjust to the room as to super dark. You are met with this huge cube that is emitting light that you can walk between. The audio was what hit home for me on this piece, is was so meditative. Depending on where you’re standing you can hear a reflective story from a narrator talking about the what ifs in life. This was so enjoyable for me as I like to use these types of reflective audio clips in my own work. It bings you out go your own head, it makes you reflect and look inwards. It was really inspiring for me to listen to these stories, I like the way it changed my mind set and took me out of the usual motions of life.
The voice
Going to this exhibition really shone a light into how much power the human voice can carry. I like think about the voice in my piece and how much power the human voice can carry. This exhibition really shone a light on to how stories of peoples can brings the feeling of mortality. I think my looking further into the voice might bring me to a idea of what I want to use in my films.
Jane Cardiff the “Forty Part Motet”
This is a great example of how the voice shapes a space or evokes a feeling. Jane Cardiffs 2001 exhibition drives homes the power of multiple voices. She had 40 speakers and dream, and that dream came true Jane Cardiff well done!
Seeing Schneider’s work made me think of Cardiff instantly. Both installations use the voice to create an emotional environment, one that you walk inside rather than simply listen to.
Overall, NOWISWHENWEARE really opened up something in me about how we experience time, light and sound — but more than that, how we experience ourselves. It really felty like being part of a living story when I was there, I couldn’t quite explain in afterwards but it was surreal. This experience really made reflect on my practice as an artist. I think moving forward the voice might play a part in my project. I like the way it can displace and remove you from everyday life as its a very useful tool
As I reflect on my own practice, I’ve realised that I want to explore the voice intentionally, whether thats through narration, motifs or fragmented reflections. The voice has ability to pull someone out of their everyday thinking and suspend them in a new emotional space. Thats exactly what happened to me in the exhibition, and I think its something I want to bring into my own film.