X
Stereo sound, 38’06’’,
2021.
Collaboration
with Loke Berg.
Commissioned by
Raumdeuter Radio, for
GIBCA extended. More info here
2021
X, is a sonic montage work, by Mariella Otto & Loke Berg,
produced for city bus line 25 in Gothenburg; Linnéplatsen
Länsmansgården, by invitation of Raumdeuter Radio, curated
by Joe Rowley, as a part of GIBCA, 2021. Using voices,
ambience and music – X appropriates sound in line with cinematographic traditions and storytelling. A fragmented
narrative with subjects, such as ‘The act of naming’, ‘
A sense
of belonging’ and ‘Illusions of arrival’, are presented in
Swedish, Arabic and English, where the concept of ‘a dark
science’ is held central. The work establishes analogies
between a politicised ‘west’ and the characteristics and
aesthetics of a ‘wild west’, aiming to raise questions on
ethical compromise and lawlessness embedded in capitalism and ideals of modernity. Departing from historic events
and characters -in knowledge production, scientific evolution
and colonialism- the piece connects to points on its
designated route, for instance, referencing Carl
Linnaeus and
his questionable work on the human species, as well as the
Swedish East India Company. The title has its source in the
story about ‘Photo 51’; the first X-ray diffraction image of DNA
fiber, taken by Rosalind Franklin in 1952. Channelled through
speech and evocative sound scapes, the scientific history of
genealogy, ideas on collective history and thoughts on
belonging, interlace with a story of the protagonist “cowboy”, an individualist – deemed to eventually face the end.
Imgaes; Modified image from Rosalind Franklins ‘Photo 51’(1952) //
Sound residency, ‘Land 404’, Jämjö, Sweden.