Swansong; From Dawn Till Dusk

DIG Collective

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On 28th of October, 2014, people were invited to sing unaccompanied from a ‘room’ dug 6 feet beneath the ground in the Medieval Garden in Hackney, condemned to demolition.

 

Each performance had two witnesses, one person viewing from atop the Medieval Tower that overlooks the garden, viewing the spectacle and listening to the singer transmitted live via headphones, while the other witness watching from the garden.

 

These songs were recorded but will never be played again. Each track is a testimony of voice, an act of witness, also a garden full of its own noises and birdsong. Each track is a lament, a celebration, a protest.

 

The work plays on the notion of a Swan Song, based on an ancient belief that swans were born without vocal chords and remained silent throughout life, only to emit a beautiful, magical song in the moments of death. I wanted to give the garden its own voice in the wake of imminent demolition. I also wanted to the community, helpless in the face of stopping the gardens demise, a collective voice.

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Singers:

Sophie Mason, Richard Evans-Lacey, Marie - Pascale Hardy, Nick Hunt, William Bock, Emily Hughes, David Hughes, Gen Doy, Caroline Williams, Robert Cervera, Anouk Cervera, Lucia Thompson, Luara Burns, Anna Ling, Kimberly Arms, Greg McLaren, Edward Harkness, Kenny Westell, Jamie Routley, Dom Kinsky, Will Sykes, Ross Thomas, Andy Caruso, Vesta Kroese, Katie Hefford, Freya Gabie

 

Witnesses:

Marie-Pascale Hardy, William Bock, Sophie Mason, Freya Gabie, Nick Hunt, David Hughes, Emily Hughes, Alba M, Charlotte Starkmann, Bernard Starkmann, Robert Cervera, Gen Doy, Charlotte Emma Onslow, Shavie Amber, Rob, Charlie Godet Thomas, Zoe Grey, Tamar Hpkins, Sam Coles, Kimberley Arms, Ting Cheng, Julie Yip, Jack Rumbold, Luica Thompson, Anna Ling, Anton Mirto, Naomi Wood, Isobel Wohl, Jamie Routley, Jennifer Evans, Andrew Coombs, Marella Bonacops, Will Mason, Emma Blackman, Dom Kinsky, Cara Ephson, Jessica Shepherd, Bevs, Ross Thomas, Will Sykes, Miriam Hindley, Tobias Gabie, Gloria Aura, Eleise Nelson, Jonny B Smith, Katie Hefford, Alida Sayer, Stewart Jenkin, Hattie Coppard, Chris Meade, Luke Roberts, Kate Bryant, Dean Bowman, Sally Roberts, Carrie Rutherford, Domenica de Ferranti, Laura Burns, Nicki Weiner, Patrick Hamil