The Listening Bed

A participatory social sculpture,
Steel, Muslin, Audio
255 x 135

Based on interviews of trauma patients, war veterans, epilepsy sufferers, The Listening Bed reflects on the notion of Immanence-

Philosophically, this emphasises immanent notions of the self as a being in a state of becoming”(Artbase feb 2009) The idea of becoming, of experiencing and how culturally we cope and behave with difficulties has been influenced both by traditions and habits of our external environment and society and the internal emoting realm and of course subjectivity.

In 2008 journalists after the “Aftermath” conference discussed the intersection of trauma and art. Chris Vognar, a critic, talks about the kind of impact art can have; ‘we’re often in these situations where we’re covering something that’s both larger than life and smaller at the same time; its not the real thing. Art has this very powerful emotion and redemptive force that we are bearing witness to and trying to convey analytically when our emotions tell us it is very hard to convey analytically’ (Nieman reports, winter 2009, online inclusive). I believe art is the ‘overcoming of a constitutional standstill’ Lygia Page talks about ‘between sensory and the intellectual’ which can bring us together.

The Listening Bed is currently undergoing development into a 40 strong interlocking fleet.

To read more on how you can contribute click on the link below