LISTENING ARTS PROGRAMMES
SONOMATECA II
a body listening practice
Dates: 6pm Sundays 24th Jan - 28th Feb
Starting from previous research involving the activation via somatic practice of the whole body as a listening tool, this new Sonomateca series prolongs this journey by including clothing into the definition of what the body is. According to neurologists indeed, when our brain maps the limits of our bodies it does include our clothing too.
In these new episodes we will develop a Deep Listening practice to find out how sound resonates in that space in between our skin and our clothing and how the body, augmented by this artificial skin, senses the world. At the beginning of each one of these one-hour length sessions we will introduce participants to a specific topic that will be later developed.
28 Feb 2021, 18:00 – 19:00 GMTLive Zoom sessionAn object for hiding oneself or, as in theatre, for expressing what otherwise could not be said. How does the current context of masks touch upon what they say about how the exposition of our bodies is being socially redefined and how this affects our self-expression and sense of being safe.
14 Feb 2021, 18:00 – 19:00 GMTLive Zoom sessionHow many layers separate your underwear from the environment? Do you feel all of them warming up your skin? Now, if you’d like, cover gently your ears with your hands and adjust carefully the pressure. Can you listen simultaneously to the sounds of the external and internal environment?
07 Feb 2021, 18:00 – 19:00 GMTLive Zoom sessionWearing trousers means that a very large part of your body is being covered with fabric. Can you sense your skin touching it? Is it cotton? Synthetic? Do your trousers produce sound when you move? Can you hear it now or if not, can you imagine it? If you start moving, does your listening change?
31 Jan 2021, 18:00 – 19:00 GMTLive Zoom sessionSkirts are a piece of clothing that in some parts of the world play a significant role in the definition of gender. Can we apply this category of gender to listening ? In other words, is the way you listen, gendered? Can you think of your listening involving two genders simultaneously?
24 Jan 2021, 18:00 – 19:00 GMTLive Zoom sessionAre you barefoot now? How do they modify your height, weight distribution and sense of balance? How does the sole of your shoes affect your speed when you walk? Do you feel grounded and at the same time light? Can you walk with your shoes ‘so silently that the bottoms of your feet become ears’?
ARTUR VIDAL is a Spanish-born saxophone player and sound artist who grew up in Paris and currently resides in London. As such, he has performed in Europe, Asia and America. His work is interested in the possibilities of improvisation from the perspective of its implications within the social field.
KARINA SCHERBAKOVA is a performer and movement practitioner working to develop novel ways of listening with the body. Her approach to her practice is a combination of sensorial and imaginary experiences related to specific places. She is currently developing a series of somatic workshops in the digital space.