O'Brien and O'Brien, Little Gestures (A single breath), three channel video, 11m18s, 2020

A video document of the version, designed for instal at Two Queens Members Show, 2020 can be viewed by clicking on the image to your right, which opens a new window (YouTube): 

A Single Breath (Film)

2 Queens Members Show – Experimenting With Locative Media and Video Install

 

Methods:

This three channel video work comprises of a number of incidental short mobile phone recordings, from several urban and suburban walks. These were used as a prompt for composing a short piece of music, responding to both the images and the canine POV sound walk, recorded earlier in 2020. I also experimented with merging canine and human soundscapes which led to two iterations of the same work. The first iteration was designed to be viewed online but was later adapted for a physical instal at Two Queens Gallery in October 2020.

 

Equipment:

  • Mobile phone camera
  • Reaper digital recording studio.
  • GoPro Camera  


Physical instal:

  • Three TV screens
  • Echoes locative media sound walk application for smartphone

 

Discoveries:

This work offered the opportunity to test the use of geo-located sound alongside a 3 Chanel video installation. This was partly in response to the pandemic and difficulties in sharing headphones as a sound delivery method in the gallery and partly to test the Echoes xyz locative media application.


The concept for the install is that the sound is geo-located using the Echoes xyz application and triggered as you approach the venue. The 3 channel 10 min looped video element is installed in the gallery on three screens. The nature of the sound means that it can be read as a sound work, on approach, and merged with the looped video on encounter. The sound plays only once, but the videos are looped.


The sound comprises of a canine embodied binaural recording of a walk with the overdub of a time stretched canine breath (a snore to be precise). The video channels are mobile phone captures of crows and hover flies, all recorded on a walk, which flank the central screen of Dexter’s paws, walking in his sleep.


The screens are positioned at an angle to play with the idea of superior canine peripheral vision. They really need positioning slightly wider apart, but space was tight.


Two versions of the work exist. One here (to the left) is designed for single screen, and includes a musical composition, written in response to the sound of a walk, embracing rhythm and repetition. Unlike the gallery installed version it does not use the image of canine dreaming paws. 

 

Bonus Content: Dexter visits the gallery.

 

Map