a sound work for the cinema by Scanner

Thursday 4 July 2002 - Friday 2 August 2002

Warner Village Cinemas, Reading

Context

Listening at the Pictures was commissioned by Artists in the City in partnership with Reading College and was presented in collaboration with Warner Village Cinemas. Following a fifteen-day residency in the Music Technology Department at Reading College, scanner worked with students to create a new sound work that was played on rotation between film screenings in Reading's city centre cinemas in the summer of 2002.

Project

Using a collage of fragments from film dialogue mixed with imaginary soundtracks scanner created a unique sound work that conjured a rich tapestry of filmic images in the mind of the listener.

Scanner says of Listening at the Pictures "I wished to develop something innovative off-site, a work that was very public and yet could also include contributions from the students. I began thinking about a place that brought different groups of people together, somewhere intimate and quiet, that could enhance any experience of listening and chanced upon the idea of using a local cinema as a possible venue. The venue itself was the catalyst for the final work - conscious that we hear films as much as we see them"

Artist

Musician, artist and minimalist anti-hero, scanner's eclectic mix of activities places him at the crossroads of academic and digital pop culture. Early work controversially utilised scanned mobile phone conversations which he wove into his soundscapes, focussing on issues of privacy and the dichotomy between the public and private domain. Over time, his methodology has shifted through performances and installations, trawling the hidden noise of the modern metropolis. scanner is internationally known for his particular approach to sound. In 1999 he won The Imaginaria award for Digital Art for his show 'Sound Polaroids' at the ICA in London and most recently won the Neptun Water Prize for his work 'Wishing Well' in Germany.