Read my lips : No New Taxes
A collaboration with artist amy pickles developing and performing part of the sound component. Custom developed a looper mangler using open source software and hardware. The project text :
- Performance by Amy Pickles with Djuna Couvee, Marta la Torre Rubio and Ana Buljan
- Live Sound by Max Franklin
- Translation by Sanne Cobussen
Read my lips: No New Taxes. is a performed sound work where the physical structure of Gallery Lecq becomes speaker and aural / oral cavity for the surrounding architecture. The ear / mouth questions the setting of its body, where internal movement is controlled by transaction. The sluice commands passage of the waterway, as the bridge controls movement on land. This system is overlooked by the imposing architecture of Rotterdam’s former Tax Office, where personal financial dealings with the municipality allowed bodies to move in the city.
The title refers to a statement by George W. Bush in his 1988 election nomination. Though it struck public conscious and helped him win the campaign, these words are now said to have hurt Bush politically, living on as a broken promise.
A speaker is an electro-acoustic device and a person who delivers a speech. Here we experiment with distributed sounds to pledge a new narrative.
Costumes
- Fibre-optic battery powered lights, corks, plastic bags, shells, nets
- Fabric sourced at the local market, chewing gum wrappers