DESCRIPTION

What and how do we remember a performance, what goes onto and off the record, who speaks in whose name, and when does the disk flip to the B-Side of History, ‘des petites histoires’ and silences? In Black Box the said and the unheard, the fragment and the hiatus are equally important triggers to activate collective reminiscence.

Drawing from an archive of interviews, Myriam Van Imschoot injects a jukebox, the popular icon of hit parades and bar-entertainment, with contents and voices of a different kind. Together with Kristien Van den Brande and composer Ayméric de Tapol, she has cut 20 vinyl singles with testimonies of artists, musicians, producers and technicians. Once they participated in Crash Landing, an improvisation series curated by choreographers Meg Stuart, Christine De Smedt and David Hernandez between 1996 and 1999; now they enter a growing sonic mosaic for meandering thoughts about improvisation, history, and the ephemeral.

Concretely, visitors of Black Box can select their choices directly on a jukebox in an interactive listening situation. A ‘menu’ is available with extra information on the sound sources. In contrast to the more individualized listening experience offered by headphones, the jukebox make the situation social, relational and durational.

PHOTOS OF BLACK BOX AT PLAYGROUND STUK (NOVEMBER 2009)

PHOTOS OF BLACK BOX IN RECYCLART (NOVEMBER 2011)

Photos: Diana Duta