And it all comes down to this... by David Shearing
Our first stop on our trip to Cardiff was the newly built Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama situated in the heart of Cardiff. From the 5th to the 13th of September it's playing host to the prestigious World Stage Design Festival.
We were to choose one that really stood out for us then complete worksheet about the piece.
I chose to look at "And it all comes down to this..." by Leeds based designer David Shearing and his "immersive multimedia installation"
Designed as a poetic landscape, the piece aimed to create a holistic experience of text sound and visual material. Staged without performers, this design-led installation focused on the subtlety of audience experience; attention, listening and the active exploration of space.
Source: World Stage Design 2013
These were the questions I the had to answer...
How effectively does the design communicate the narrative/mood/atmosphere?
Shearings piece has no performers. Instantly we know that any communication of the narrative, mood and atmosphere must come purely from the design. Shearings states, there's a narrative but it in order to understand this the audience has to engage with the pieces, searching for hidden moments and sounds using the headphones provided. Although we were unable to experience the installation fully, as we were only provided with a video of the installation and a pair of headphones. The narrative was communicated very effectively, this is obviously in part due to the fact that there is some speaking involved, but that is no different than having actors act out the scene, at least this gives the audience the opportunity to use their imagination to place the story being told within their surroundings. The following paragraph is from www.digyorkshire.com, I found it was the most concise summary of the narrative i could find.
"It is a story about triumph over adversity; the lone figure against the sea and the last throws of a dying star. At the centre of this image is you, absorbed in a landscape of video, sound and light.
In the darkness the glistening sea reflects our image and it all comes down to this."
In terms of mood and atmosphere Shearing and his collaborators have created something completely unique or at least something new to me. As a result of having to share the headphones with others I only caught parts of the video so I had two completely different experiences whilst studying his work, something that I feel work advantageously for me.
As I looked through the entrance of the bird house for the first time there was a strong sense of nostalgia about the piece, the warm colours casting a metaphorical rose tinted filter across the installation. It appeared like he managed to almost create a tangible memory, or you'd stepped in to an dreamlike alternate reality. It brought out an intended curiosity of the surroundings. The use of dry ice further promoted this idea of memories and mystery as everything appeared hazy, a word often used to describe the disintegration of memories over time. The melodic, gentle music playing through the earphones complimented the other elements of the installation and as a result, the mood came across as comfortable, peaceful and familiar. I mentioned to one of my fellow students who had also chosen this piece how it seems to like somewhere you could happily stay and not want to leave.
As a result of that the second time I popped the headphones on and peered through the peep hole came as quite a surprise to me as what was now being presented was dramatic and action filled with lots of harsh onomatopoeias such as "CRASH!" which gave the impression of the character ricocheting off things in a rush. This obviously created a totally different mood and atmosphere to the first viewing. It heightened the senses and the atmosphere became tense. Had I seen this initially I may not have chosen this piece at all because the stark contrast in the two viewings.
Therefore, referring back to the question, I feel this proves the design does in fact communicate the narrative, mood and atmosphere effectively as it has the ability to evoke a variety of emotions purely based on the set alone.
To what extent did the supporting commentaries influence your perception? To what extent do you think the work is successful? Why?
Personally I don't feel the supporting commentary influenced my perception of the installation, it merely provided a better understanding of what was trying to be achieved. This however, is important as Shearing mentions that his work is all about audience experience and their journey and discoveries throughout the space and so to imply what should be felt by the viewers would be unnecessary. Continuing on from that, I believe Shearing has been highly successful as he has created an holistic experience which was the primary aim of the piece. Within this immersive installation he and his collaborators have effectively managed to convey clearly the narrative of the story, formed and transformed atmospheres and evoked emotions from the audience all without the need for performers.
Where would you situate this work in the context of other practise?
I would say that this work would fall within the bracket of immersive art/installation, I'm sure there are also others it could also be apart of that I am currently unaware of. As for other practitioners I've done a bit of research to see if I can find anyone doing similar things that I'm also impressed by and have found a couple, but I will present their work in following posts.
What ideas or ways of working could you take away from this exhibition to utilise in your own brief?
There are a lot of things I can take from this piece. Having wanted to be many things over the years such as a colourist, a lighting engineer, a sound engineer as well as a graphic designer and a set/prop designer. Indecisive to say the least. This style of immersive installation and specifically this piece encompasses so many of my interests, I think will serve both a greatly inspirational as well as a useful reference point for the future.
Photographs - David Shearing