Forming resonant situations: engaging the interval in performance and installation practices from Benjamin Woods on Vimeo.
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This is a video and audio document of a performance that took place at MADA Gallery, Monash University on January 22, 2022. The performance occurred as part of a PhD exhibition by Benjamin Woods.
Performers:
Sarah Bunting, performing with the work 'Kelpy Cymbal (after Lygia Clark)' 2021-2022.
Niki Johnson, performing with the work 'Interwoven Pools' 2021-2022.
Meredith Turnbull, performing with works from 'Beeswax Flutes' 2018-2022.
Benjamin Woods, performing with the works 'Ghost shrimp burrow flutes' 2021, and 'Beeswax Flutes' 2018-2022.
Documentation:
Elena Betros-Lopez, performance videography.
Natalie Reed, photography.
Benjamin Woods, installation videography, sound, and editing.
DETAILS OF WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION
Shelf 1 (left to right):
'Copper melting pots (one with beeswax)', 2021. A set of hand-raised copper pots made by Benjamin Woods (BW) to produce beeswax flutes in the context of a live performance. The performance was held as part of Abbra Kotlarczyk’s exhibition A sonorous draft; a lexicon of windjamming held at BLINDSIDE from Jun 30-Aug 7, 2021.
Beeswax Flutes, 2017-2022. Various beeswax flutes by BW made through a makeshift clay mould-making process.
Shelf 2:
'Beeswax Flutes', 2017-2022. Various beeswax flutes by BW made through a makeshift clay mould-making process.
Projection:
'Leaves (hope for resonance)/ 葉（共鳴への希望)', 2020. A sonic and sculptural installation by BW presented at Youkobo Art Space, Suginami-ku, Tokyo from January 22-26, 2020. These sounds and images are an outcome of a 2-month long artist residency at Youkobo Art Space from Dec 2019 to Feb 2020.
Edited video and audio recording.
Duration: 9:03m.
Courtesy of the artist with thanks to Makiko Tsuji, Hiroko Murata and Tatsuhiko Murata at Youkobo Art Space.
Shelf 3:
'Beeswax Flutes', 2017-2022. Various beeswax flutes by BW made through a makeshift clay mould-making process.
TV Screen 1:
'Beeswax Flutes 2', 2018. A performance by Benjamin Woods with Geoff Robinson and Sarah Bunting presented as part of Why Listen to Plants? (Week: Why Listen to Bees?) curated by Dani Zuvela in a partnership with Liquid Architecture and the former RMIT Design Hub.
Edited performance video and audio recording.
Duration: 19:05m.
Courtesy of the artist and Liquid Architecture, with thanks to Sensi-Lab for studio recording.
Credits: double bass playing and videography by Geoff Robinson; beeswax flute playing by Sarah Bunting and Benjamin Woods; concept, editing, choreography and sculpture by Benjamin Woods.
Shelf 4:
'Beeswax Flutes', 2017-2022. Various beeswax flutes by BW made through a makeshift clay mould-making process.
Floor sculptures in the middle of the room:
'Interwoven Pools', 2021-22. A set of two plywood and latex structures produced by BW in consultation with Niki Johnson. The structures are made to house water, clay, sand and other sonic devices, including a hydrophone, to produce a range of textured sounds and material minglings.
Credits: artist consultation by Niki Johnson, technical expertise by Dan Truscott.
TV Screen 2:
'Benthic Community Flutes Sketch 1 (Sandy Ghost Shrimp)', 2021-2022.
A video documentation of improvised melodic performances with hand-blown borosilicate glass flutes at various locations along Moonee Ponds Creek, with excerpts of hydrophone underwater recording along Darebin Creek.
Duration: 8:07m.
Courtesy of the artist and Tributary Project (Geoff Robinson, Ying Lan-Dann, Saskia Schut, Benjamin Woods), with thanks to Dr Fiona Bird.
Credits: videography by Elena Betros-Lopez and Benjamin Woods; concept, performance, sculpture, video and audio editing by Benjamin Woods.
Window platform (left to right):
'Ghost shrimp burrow flute' and 'Benthic structures', 2021. An arrangement of various hand-blown borosilicate glass flutes with cast beeswax and layered sand sculptures, installed on a plywood platform with a black rubber mat.
Ceiling sculptures in middle front of the room:
'Weedy cymbal (after Lygia Clark)', 2021-2022. A copper sculpture made by BW in consultation with Sarah Bunting.
Credits: artist consultation by Sarah Bunting, technical expertise by Jordan Wood and Shani Shafrir.
'Thick Leaf', 2019-2022. A bronze cast, produced from a wax cast of a carving produced by BW for the exhibition Leaves (hope for resonance)/ 葉（共鳴への希望), 2020.
'Kiri', 2019. Wood carving produced by BW for the exhibition Leaves (hope for resonance)/ 葉（共鳴への希望), 2020. The carving was used as a stamp (using green paint) to make take-home posters for visitors to the exhibition.