This is the summary of most of the things that happened at Unit 5. There were many others, and as it is this post has had to be divided into four sections!
Section One of Four:
other/other/other at Unit 5
30th and 31st August 2008
Day one:
We arrived at the warehouse space at 9am on Saturday morning, all lugging heavy bags of equipment (as far as I can tell only one of the members has a car…). We had a discussion about individual plans for work and space and any ideas for group projects throughout the weekend, and then set about installing and arranging. The work during this early period seemed to set the tone for the rest of the weekend: testing and experimenting were integral to the work, and was visible to the audience. The space was open to the public from 12pm, and they gradually drifted in, all fully engaging with the activities, and interacting where possible. We spoke to visitors to make sure that the process was transparent, and throughout the day we all added notes and drawings to the Documentation Wall, charting moments in other people's activity and in the space as a whole.
John Boursnell made two or three reel-to-reel tape loops running through bars in the window, using computer generated sounds and live recordings of the ambient space. It provided a constant sound to which other artists (and public) could respond to. One loop was the starting point for a group improvisation in the middle of the afternoon.
Bev Broadhead set up her laptop, bluetooth, projector and assistant (Kevin Hunn) in a corner, and then ventured into local streets asking members of the public to read a line of poetry into her mobile phone camera. We received the first transmission at about 2pm, which added a nice human sound to the very digital and industrial ones dominating the space. Apparently the proportion of public asked was far greater than the proportion brave enough to be recorded!
Rachael Fisher installed a delicate nail and thread drawing across the whole of the back wall, using a circle and spoke arrangement which echoed the bicycle wheel we found in the space. Having work commitments, she left before the public opening, but in the spirit of group interaction left the work open to modification.
Kate Hodges took up the challenge, and carefully hung a single bulb in the centre of Rachel's work, projecting a shadow drawing over the original. She moved around the space, arranging bulbs around installations and artists, and dramatically changing the dynamics of the room. Some of the bulbs were on a timer, and at one point beautifully coincided with a line from Bev's recording: "sometimes things appear", lighting up the whole space.
