Currents of exchange: HEAD THROAT GUTS the sounding structures of the body in experimental voice practice.

Abstract

Throughout this Masters research paper and practice I have placed the sounding body in different experimental contexts including live, event-based performances, sound technologies, and installation. My research specifically explores how the human voice sits in a body; how it is used and practiced to produce sound, and projected out to be placed elsewhere. During these moments the body undergoes physical challenges linked to the architecture and technology of a space. Each performance is specific to a site and is devised accordingly. I have conducted a number of experiments and collaborative projects to define and place the sounding body into a contemporary art context. These discoveries have lead to parallel findings and have allowed for a continuous trajectory throughout the MFA degree. My particular focus of research has lead to the investigation to how live experimental performances alter an experience in an audience as opposed to a documented or mediated experience. When an audience is presented with a raw sounding body, I’m interested in how are they affected and how this experience translates from one person to another. Throughout this paper I analyse, discuss and exemplify six of my own live event based works alongside other artists practicing in a similar field and context to highlight the intrinsic bodily experience that is evident when observing and receiving a sounding body in performance.