Heteroglossia
2021
Performance for exhibition opening, “Polyphon - Mehrstimmigkeit in Bild und Ton” 3 channel radio sound performance: 3 Radios, FM Transmitter, laptop
Museum für Angewandte Kunst,
Greizer Str. 37, 07545 Gera
score for Heteroglossia
This project is inspired by Mikhail Bakhtin's definition of
Heteroglossia. It is a state of polyphony, when a plurality of
independent and unmerged voices and consciousness
coexist. In the research of Bakhtin, he focused on the realm
of literature, specifically in Dostoevsky's novels.
In everyday life, voices and opinions are filling the air simultaneously, forming a natural state of heteroglossia. Once a voice with more power appears, it will interfere the dynamic until the system meets the balance again.
Even being invisible nor inaudible, radio signals as well constantly exist in the air, carrying different voices parallely. Only when radios tune in, signals thus become audible to the public. Therefore, I choose radio as a medium to materialize the concept of heteroglossia. FM transmitters play the role of exterior interference that take over the space of the original channels. This project aims to present the state of this heteroglossia in our daily life in a playful and interactive way .
In everyday life, voices and opinions are filling the air simultaneously, forming a natural state of heteroglossia. Once a voice with more power appears, it will interfere the dynamic until the system meets the balance again.
Even being invisible nor inaudible, radio signals as well constantly exist in the air, carrying different voices parallely. Only when radios tune in, signals thus become audible to the public. Therefore, I choose radio as a medium to materialize the concept of heteroglossia. FM transmitters play the role of exterior interference that take over the space of the original channels. This project aims to present the state of this heteroglossia in our daily life in a playful and interactive way .
Mikhail Bakhtin borrowed the word Polyphony from musicology to analyse literature. He pointed out that in Dostoevsky's novels, the characters do not act as the agents of the author. The characters are multiple voices which are equal in relation to each other. That guides me to the decision to bring up voices from different places and circumstances, provide them a space to simply ‘happen’ at the same time.