Reflections...

This week has been one of the hardest and most stressful weeks of the entire year. I have had to face a few harsh realities and re-think my project completely. Basically, the structure I am proposing to make is too big to be placed in any space inside the university and I am being advised to go back and re-think my plan.... It is very frustrating at this stage, because I have put all my energy into creating this structure and even though I understand that perhaps the project is too challenging, I still very much envision the piece as part of my degree show. I guess, because my degree is at stake here, it is best that I do take their advise and find a way to scale the structure down and make a few compromises....

I have been told for the moment to focus on my sound piece and building the internal environment and soundscape for the installation, rather than focusing on the structure itself. Then, once I have created the sound I can build and design the space around it.... I had sort of planned to do this anyway and to go on more expeditions around Scotland to look at other historical sites for inspiration. So far I have been in touch with the Hamilton Mausoleum and am currently in discussion with them about recording in the space and I also plan to visit Roslyn Chapel and Wallace’s Cave. Hopefully within these spaces I will be able to source the sites for my virtual soundscape, looking at human resonance. I would like to find more spiritual and sacred places and to go visit existing chambers around the country. As part of my research on space, I am also thinking of setting up an investigation week with a group of volunteers to come and investigate space with me and look at the different ways we can resonate within it. This could also include a series of improvisational performances, where I ask them to resonate in the space within their own way...In discussion with a tutor last week, he said that it would be interesting to see how people understand their presence within a space. For me, my natural way of interpreting space is by singing into it, this reveals to me what sort of space it is, how my body sits inside it and how I feel within it. It would be interesting to see how other people resonate in space and how they understand space in relation to their own presence. I am also really looking forward to the performance workshop Richard Layzell next month. I would like to take this opportunity to do a sort of private performance, 1-1 where I invite the public to enter a space alone and where I just sing to them directly. This could be an interesting way to see how people react to the presence of the voice, especially in this more private encounter. There is definitely a lot more to do and go through before I know what I am really doing for my final show, but for now, I am going to contine researching and exploring....I am still going to keep the idea of the soil and the chamber at the back of my mind, but right now, I need to focus on the internal space, and then once this is formed, I can create the external one...