By this point, the loops for both audio and visual began to take shape, and we had sussed out what the problems were that prevented the action from happening. This was a relief to me in that now i could stay in one place for a while, or go to record someone and know that the audio visual elements were constant. The voices and background audio loop were much better in levels, but again, I think I was too cautious. You only really have one go in the morning as you have to upload onto the computer each day. By the time you’ve done that the gallery is open to public.
I had a lot of conversation with people interested in the concept of the visual. Somehow the visual allowed them to enter into the room for a longer period of time, and because it was such a slow moving video they then allowed themselves to come up to me and ask me questions. There was a woman who found a connection to the room, and she came to me with questions. I said to her that it would be amazing if we could record her response, but she declined and said she’d think about it. One of the ways that I have approached people has been to give them a few different options to voice their thoughts: they could also write it into a text, of which I would agree to vocalise later on, in the week. I gave out my contact and explained there would be no pressure. I knew that her thoughts were in response to her culture and the treatment of women there, and I was fully aware of how fragile it was to voice such a concern, and even moreso to make it public. But our conversation felt connected and I was happy to be that person to whom she discussed such issues.
Ciara came back! And we recorded her voice again, with the assured knowledge that the recording button had been pressed.
A first try of a live performance in the space itself was not in itself very successful because there were many possibilities not yet explored. But later on in the week it will be much better.