Tuesday, 27 November 2012
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
i'm now back in Europe & slowly filtering the recordings & experiences of hunting for lights - light houses & houses for / of light in Japan & Korea....
I don't, as a rule, do 'commissions' - thats to say that I can't do what I do at the drop of a hat & without feeling some connection to a project. That's one of the reasons I don't use the term 'sound artist' in relation to myself.
This trip started with a simple idea, became a bit complicated due to the tragic circumstances in Japan & has ended up closer to what makes me tick - it's been about finding, about place & the capture of moments....
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Korea -
spending several days in Seoul, the prospect of heading 2 hours or so out to the coast to record the one lighthouse that I had intended to record suddenly seems a strange thing to do when one considers my own way of enjoying the act of field recording & exploration. The momentary, the detail of moments is what inspires me. So, as with Japan (but for different reasons) I found myself drawn not to marine lighthouses but to urban beacons - lights that guide people moving around Seoul or that act as markers for small boats along the Han river....
....for the young couples in the parks the illuminations of each massive bridge spanning the river act as a kind of electric sunset as they wait for them to be turned off at around 11pm - a signal for the time they should begin to leave & find their way home....
....the north Seoul tower is perhaps the single most visible light in the landscape of Seoul & attracts thousands of visitors each week....I shall go there too, but right now it is the smaller light bearing structures that seems to be drawing me in....
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
things changed in japan....it became harder to get access to the 'lighthouses' along the coast & this prompted me to ponder the meaning of 'lighthouse' - also after I discovered 'lighthouse' in kyoto (a centre for the visually impaired)....
a light atop a structure to guide travellers
this places matters of safety alongside distance & closeness
a hoped for sign in the distance
a warning upon coming too close
in practical terms I began to find lights in houses that guided me as I explored Tokyo, Kyoto & the surrounding areas
lights that stood out somehow from the others around them....
many thoughts & feelings....of a personal coming close & feeling far away....looking for guidance, looking for signs of safe harbour inside oneself....self doubt & a gradual process of recovery....
light
house
Monday, 30 May 2011
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Friday, 13 May 2011
japan....
nerves are tighter following the earthquake & tsunami - gaining permission to access some of the sites I had in mind is harder now....
whilst researching other options on the opposite coast of japan I came across a building in Kyoto called 'the light house' - a centre for children with sight problems.
....this led me to think about what a 'lighthouse' actually is, what it does - its form & function....from there my thoughts have extended to an idea to explore locations on the edges of the cities I will visit....looking for other lights in buildings that serve as a visual 'lighthouse' in the landscape - a reassuring sight in the evening & a guide for travellers in the night
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