Artists: Jo Truman + Andy Milne (+ The Fragile Ids-
Tim Cunningham, Jo Truman, Andy Milne and John Shand)
Performance Sat Feb 12th, 6pm (Limited capacity event)
Open 11am - 5pm | Fri-Sun
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| Image: drawing by Jo Truman |
Installation with drawings and sound.
This project explores trauma and memory through sound and silence, the written word and drawing. I am working from the premise that “the body holds the score” and that every one of our cells contain imprinted memories of our lives, a notion that is gaining traction through the field of Polyvagal theory and Epigenetics. However, it is not a new notion- first nations people are aware of ancestors living within and around them, notions which are not just beliefs but lived experiences.
I work from the premise that we have the capacity to “read” our own imprinted memories through interception and visceral awareness. These imprints inform our lives on a daily basis, impacting us, generating positive (expansive) or negative/traumatic (constrictive) feelings experienced on a visceral level. Imprints may be deep but are plastic in nature and may be mitigated and transformed through sound.
The collaboration with Andy Milne involves bringing sonic memories into the real time of the present, as the installation interacts with the space of the gallery with random sounds informed by memory intrude into the present moment, also signifying the tendency for traumatic memory to intrude on the present. Not only sound is explored but the sometimes loaded implications of frozen silence.
Following my mother’s death I inherited hundreds of little notes inscribed with existential and spiritual musings about life following her escape from a repressive abusive marriage, about the same age as I am now. Her rich inner life was inaccessible to me, as her state of shut down from years of trauma from losses experienced in WW2 and beyond into her marriage had impacted her ability to talk. The notes reveal her quest for her authentic self which had been compromised by the adverse experiences which dominated her life. They have provided a portal through which I can finally get to know her and consequently understand myself, as she is deeply imprinted within my own body and being. These notes and their content form a basis of this project.
My current work explores the threshold of the tipping point between “being” and “nothingness” and how internalised and intergenerational social imprints construct the sense of self, thus informing interactions with the surrounding environment. The current Covid shut down is an echo of the experiences of my early childhood life which was a constant struggle for the recognition of self, a selfhood which was consistently denied by a shut down mother and a shutting down father- signals which were consequently played out by siblings to maintain a perceived status quo.
My vocal improvisations have evolved over many years through a process of interoception, involving a visceral mapping of my nervous system and deeply internalised feelings, bringing their messages to the external via the voice, working with these sonic energies as compositional material for transformation. The body holds the score. I am curious about how women can develop their own sense of authentic self and identity in a world dominated by authoritative male voices. My response has to go inwards to discover and honour the deeply embodied stories and experiences I hold within my body using my breath and voice as an instrument.
The band “fragile ids” (Jo Truman/Andre Milne/John Shand/ Tim Cunningham) will be performing on Feb 12th in a dynamic sonic celebration of the Articulate Project Space.
Due to Covid restrictions the Articulate Project Space is only able to accommodate 29 people for this event.
Conditions of entry:NSW Public Health Order requires all visitors over 16 years of age,To sign in with the QR code provided at the entrance,Wear a mask, social distancing rules will also apply.Please don't come if you are feeling unwell.Articulate is a registered Covid Safe business.
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