VoxBox Exhibition - One audio input, infinite cultural output

VoxBox: One audio input, infinite cultural output

Dates: 18 May - 21 May 2009

Preview: 6pm, Monday 18 May 2009

Location: Crosspoint, Roland Levinsky Building, University of Plymouth, UK.

http://www.voxboxart.com

InNoPO (In No Particular Order) is pleased to present:

**VoxBox: One audio input, infinite cultural output** a cross-disciplinary group exhibition featuring new work from 6 international artists selected from an open call, and work from Plymouth’s Café Concrete Collective. Each new artwork has been made in response to the same audio clip, recorded from a secret location in Plymouth.

The aim of the exhibition is to spark discussions about the way we make art, where autonomy fits in, and the role of technology in the process, be it paintbrush, computer or rear end. By remediating the same audio source, each artist brings to the project their own histories, experiences and realities - journeying in their own particular way towards the final artwork. The combination of artists gives to an eclectic blend of media, culture, and practice, creating a show that celebrates difference and all its intricacies, conflicts and influences.

The discussions on remediation - broadly referring to the refashioning of one set of data into another set of data - oscillate around three key themes: The media (for example from audio to visual), the individual (from acoustic associations to artistic decisions), and the location (from Plymouth to the rest of the world, and back again).

The study of the media relations, from source code to target language, seeks to highlight processes embedded in their operation and the ways in which they interact with other technologies. Exploring the human element in remediation brings in ideas of how individuals understand the world, and how we interact with others. Notions of identity and free will intersect with social conditioning, religion, and physics. All these are wrapped up and mediated in the perceptual frameworks of the individual as subjectivity. When considering the role of the location in art practice, Voxbox takes on the mantra of Rene Dubos by “thinking globally and acting locally”. The Internet transcends national borders and reaches out across the world to feed back a wealth of shared knowledge, understanding and action. Making use of this invaluable networking tool, Voxbox consumes and reproduces this data on a local stage, presenting the people of Plymouth with an array of new artworks, all based on interpretations of their city’s sound.

Artists Nicu Ilfoveanu & Vlad Gherghiceanu (Romania) fuse mythic narrative with structures of knowledge; judsoN (USA) lays out a platform for interactions between acoustics, aesthetics the audience and space; Katie Davies, Jeremy Lee & Peter Walters (UK) explore the potential for material outcomes through immaterial sources with 3D printing technology; Theo Firmo (Brazil) breaches the linguistic turn with a dash of chaos; Cathy McCabe, Jojo & Gina Sherman (UK) dissolve formality with subversions of domesticity; Brice Jeannin (France) recreates the conditions of a listening situation.

Plymouth’s Café Concrete Collective provide the anchor to the international artists, placing their work in a local context. The 10 works from artists including Koombe, Tony Hill, Neil Rose and DJ Contort, form something of an ode to Plymouth, remediating not only on the acoustic properties but the living, breathing experience of the city itself. Alongside the exhibition is an online platform for members of the public to create their own responses to the audio. Upload your text, video, photo or audio to take part in the global gallery. VoxBox is made possible with the support from Groundwork Devon and Cornwall, and the University of Plymouth

InNoPO is a cross-disciplinary collective dedicated to the research, development, production and experimentation of contemporary art. Founded in 2008 by Winnie Soon (Hong Kong), David Johns (UK) and Danai Katsanta (Greece), at the University of Plymouth. VoxBox is their first collaboration.

For further information please email: [email protected]