4Walls

4Walls
image/jpeg
750 × 600

A digital installation that investigates the life that exists beyond the 4walls of the home: the neighbours.

Using the technologies of digital projection and surround sound a space is created to simulate a room in a house where a multitude of ‘neighbours’ are heard through the walls. Through the sensuous action of placing ear to wall, the audience engages with real-life narratives, fictions and found conversations that explore the underbelly of living in the company of, for the most part, virtual strangers.

The sounds that permeate the brick and concrete to penetrate our private lives; the arguments, the sex, and the pets that scream away the day; the stories of others but stories only half heard form a virtual reality that can only be guessed at. 4Walls is a commentary on the insularity of modern times, of living with sets of neighbours who are strangers and accessed solely through the walls. Based on the vagaries of these sounds one attempts to build their profiles, making personal meanings from the sonic accompaniment that surrounds them.

The sonic database for the project contains a variety of narratives based on interviews from an eclectic group of participants of different nationalities, gender, age groups and ethnicity. These recorded narratives form the core of the work and act as both documentation and oral history, providing insights into how social dynamics have changed throughout the years. What is also made explicit is how community is viewed; its formation and disintegration; how contemporary community is not determined by proximity but by affiliation.

A second set of ‘found’ conversations taken from everyday life; buses, shops and other public spaces will accompany these dialogues. Coupled with the sonic element is a virtual window; a digital projection contained by real curtains and pelmet showing views from the windows of each participant.

The Neighbours/Participants
Twenty sets of ‘neighbours’ have participated.

Ms Carrington - Miss Akers - Mr and Mrs K Simpson - Ms N Simpson - Mr and Mrs Knight - Mr and Mrs Hill - Mr Rice - Mr and Mrs Simms - Mrs Cox - Mrs Jones - Mr and Mrs Bingley - Mr and Mrs Blake - Mr C Simpson - Mr and Mrs B Kelly - Mr and Mrs J Kelly - Mrs P Duffin - Ms Duffin and Mr Jones - Mr Hayes - Mrs Maher - Miss Hurley