“Residuum” – 100 gold cassette tapes, housed in a unique individually hand made plastered and painted box, with pointer card and a hand stamped segment of an original 1960’s hand blocked print of William Morris wallpaper.
Originally a commission for the National Trust at the Birmingham Back To Backs, “Residuum” was a collection of unique sound pieces that explored, reflected and exposed the hidden layers of the history contained in each house.
This collection of 5 sound pieces explored the notions of, layers and echoes of the architecture and personal histories of the Back to Back properties which where inhabited from the 1840’s to the 1970’s. Sound Artists Justin Wiggan and Darren Joyce (Dreams Of Tall Buildings) have created unique sound pieces which have a symbolic connection with the layering of materials seen in these houses, the many layers of wall papers, the original coatings of lead paint and stripped back plaster, to re expose in sound the history to it's first use as a new space, a home, a dwelling to it’s last inhabitant.
Dotb have used raw materials from the Back to Back’s by using a hand scanner to scan the walls, floors and original artefacts from each house, they then turned this visual documentation into sound data via computer software to generate a library of raw sound materials, these pieces honour their own heritage and intervene within themselves, mirroring the same way the past inhabitants always recycled material, i.e. old blankets become trousers, old trousers become pillow stuffing or a rug, old news paper becomes draw lining. Each of these pieces also reflect the technological development of the houses, from a slow crawl to a steep curve, from the colossal becoming micro, each house added another layer of technology to the last, i.e stencils turning to wall paper, gas lamps to electric light bulbs, out side water pump to inside plumbed water.
This slow crawl to steep technological curve is also addressed in the physical quality of the sound piece which concludes in a binaural piece of which sounds of playing children, sounds of the workers and of life muted through walls, layering and floating like a slice through the past, peeling away the layers like old wallpaper each having it's own story to tell.
Actor Charlie Sheen has already expressed his interest in this release by singing its praises on his facebook Page!
A viral Video can be watched at Youtube here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bevzHJ2FYGw
The set can be purchased directly from the Gonzo Website here:
http://www.gonzomultimedia.co.uk/product_details/15353
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