The Reader
2022
two channel video, sound and LED light installation across two adjacent rooms
installation view from the solo exhibition Performance anxiety at Babel Visningsrom, part of Meta.morf biennial for art and technology
The Reader unfolds across a two room installation, and investigates the phenomenon of subvocalization, or silent speech. This internal speech activity of providing the sound of the word as it is read is something that speedreaders attempt to eliminate in order to read faster. This work delivers a text on the subject matter in two forms. In the front room on the gllaery seen above, the text plays on screen, with a soundtrack containing various sonic strategies that speedreaders use to attempt the elimination of subvocalisation. In the black box at the back room of the gallery, the same text is read aloud, at the same time as the titles, with rhythmic intonation onscreen. Sound echoes between the two rooms, so sonic remnants of language can be heard whilst experiencing either methodology of information transfer, articulating a potential state of subvocalisation.
Supported by Billedkunstnernes Vederlagsfond, Norsk Kulturrådet and Bergen Kommune.
Photos: Susann Jamtøy, from the solo exhibition Performance anxiety at Babel Visningsrom, part of Meta.morf biennial for art and technology