‘...where hollow rocks re-echo to the impulsive sound, and the struck image of the voice rebounds.’1
Sonic Displacements is curated by graduating students from the MFA Fine Art programme at NCAD, in response to recent exhibitions and research events at Project. Isabel English, Saoirse Groves-Murphy, Justine Rainer and Beatrice O’Connell have brought together the work of artists Sharon Phelan and Aisling Ní Aodha for an event structured around a set of performances and a discussion chaired by writer Nathan O’Donnell.
There is a marked interplay between Phelan and Ní Aodha’s practices. As researchers and practitioners, their combined mediums of writing, sound, and performance refer to language and displacement. For Sonic Displacements, both artists reflect on the historical and colonial properties of Echo. Embodied, the character Echo appears in Greek mythology as a nymph; an endlessly returning, if elusive, figure who is condemned to repeat the words and phrases spoken by others.
Both Phelan and Ní Aodha simultaneously call our attention to ‘vocal voids’ that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. This fragmentation or displacement of the voice might reflect those sonic waves that help to position us in relation to our setting, unfolding an imageless map of sorts; an aural choreography to navigate uncertain environments.
The event will be followed by a drinks reception. We hope you can join us.
With thanks to Sara Greavu, Project Arts Centre and Sarah Durcan, NCAD.
1/ Vergilius Maro, P. and Davidson, J., 1785. The works of Virgil. London