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July 16 - 18, 2007
Sassoon Gallery, SE15
[Read more] |
July 4 - 6, 2007
Shunt Vaults, SE1
[Current page] |
August 2000
291 Gallery, Hackney
[Read more] |
June 2000
Glastonbury
[Read more] |
June 2000
Camberwell ArtsWeek
[Read more] |
November 1999
Truman Breweries
[Read more] |
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July 4th - 6th, 2007
Shunt Vaults, SE1 |
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The labyrinthine, subterranean vaults that make up the Shunt Lounge played host to the first reincarnation of the Gas Organ on the 4th to the 6th of July 2007.
Lorraine, who uses London Bridge Station on her daily commute, was intrigued by the unassuming and anonymous entrance to Shunt and went to investigate. She was amazed by the sheer size and scope of the place, and contacted Luke Cooper, the manager of the venue to discuss the exhibition of the Gas Organ at Shunt. Luke put us in touch with one of the artists from Shunt for a meeting, Heather Uprichard, who kindly and unexpectedly offered us a slot the following week!
Situated in the bowels of the earth under London Bridge Station, the vast echoic chambers provided the perfect acoustic landscape for the sometimes sinister and menacing, sometimes mournful and melancholic drones of the tubes.
In near total darkness, visitors were compelled toward the distant and ghostly sounds as they made their way to the bar and function rooms. Some scurried by in the shadows. Others stopped to investigate. Pretty soon they were entranced by Gas Organ magic, mesmerized by its hypnotic tones, and by the transient, diaphanous forms of the four azurite gas flames.
Those who lingered long enough were rewarded by the chance to harness the Organ's power by using the remote controls.
One audience participant, April, sent us this video from their mobile phone:
We have integrated radio frequency receivers into the electronics which drive the gas burners. This allows participants to directly control the flames and therefore the sound, with the use of joystics on a remote control unit.
Visitors to the show greatly appreciated this addition to the already sumptuous auditory banquet.
We had invited The Londonist's Hazel Tsoi to bear witness to the inaugural outing of the Organ.
She was very excited about the project and enthusiastically grilled Lou and Lorraine about all aspects of the beast and its future plans. She followed up her visit with a glowing review to be found here.
We hope to return soon to Shunt's sepulchral stage to tantalise with new musical collaborations. Many thanks to Luke Cooper, Heather Uprichard, Mischa Twitchin and Andrea Salazar at Shunt.
This exhibition was partially funded by Review Bookshop, Rothenberger and Schott. Please see the sponsors page for more information.
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