Three international artists are exploring the evolution, boundaries and emotional territories of the human voice in a new exhibition at the New Westminster New Media Gallery.
VOICING opens Friday, Oct. 20 and runs until Dec. 22 at the gallery, located on the third floor at the Anvil Centre.
“ ‘Voicing’ describes the manipulation of notes and chords in any sound-producing entity; human, bird or instrument, changing the personality of a tone and altering its emotional quality. We control the emotional qualities of our voice in ways we’re not even aware of; modulating expression through minute physiological increments, reappraising our feelings in fractions of a second, redirecting signals in the blink of an eye,” a press release notes.
“Although the mechanisms behind the production of vocal emotion are unclear, scientists have observed that when listening to another emotional voice, our own emotional state can radically change. The works in this exhibition affect us through manipulation of the voice.”
The exhibition includes three installations: Wappen Field, by American artist Michelle Jaffé; Dawn Chorus, by Marcus Coates of the U.K.; and what do machines sing of?, by Martin Backes of Germany.
Coates’ work explores the origins of human language through bird song, while Jaffé and Backes explore the emotional voice using algorithm and a program called SuperCollider.
The works use multi-screen video, sound, robotics and sculptural electronic media, manipulating code, sound and language to explore the origins and future of the human voice in a technology-driven world.
An opening reception, with cash bar, is set for Friday, Oct. 20 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the New Media Gallery, on the third floor of the Anvil Centre at 777 Columbia St.
See www.newmediagallery.ca or email [email protected] for details.
