Liverpool Biennial 2010: Marina Rosenfeld's P.A. in the old Renshaw Hall now car park on Benson Street.

Renshaw Hall, Benson Street.

Art Last night was the visually stunning if slightly chaotic Lantern Parade in Sefton Park of which flickr is awash with images. But during the Biennial, Liverpool is also wired for sound in various spots, one of which is the old Renshaw Hall now converted into a car park. On the far wall opposite the entrance are two massive gramophone-type speakers which like many other items in this Biennial appear to have dropped in from another dimension, in this case one were Bosh are at the steam punk cutting edge contrasting sharply with the formal metal girders and mechanisation of the cars.

Assuming the audio has been turned on (I had to phone the visitors centre and a volunteer duly rushed in and pressed the relevant buttons) the speakers vacilate with a series of disjointed and uncertain electronic sounds and random eerie voices of no fixed explanation. Rosenfeld seems to be primarily an atonal musician who also likes to create installation art (of which there are plenty of examples here).  Allow the sounds to wash over you and an anarchic pattern eventually does emerge.  That she gave an interview to experimental radio station Resonance FM underscores the genre within which she works.

Stand for long enough beneath the speakers and you slowly realise that there is a complex web of performance at play. Firstly we stand and listen to the "music" from the speakers. The music is also being performed ambivalently for the functionary visitors to the car park, perhaps not even aware of its existence as they park their cars. But the sound they make, the engines stopping, children, shouting, laughing, mobile phones ringing add an extra complexity to Rosenfeld's soundscape, almost becoming harmonious within the echoey space.

1 comment:

frillip moolog: said...

Lucky you Stuart. When I visited the Marina Rosenfeld sound site the sound was also not on. When I asked the attendant about this he said that it all depended if someone remembered to come in an flick the switch. I would never have dreamed of phoning the visitor centre. Top marks for your initiative and persistence.

I also though I'd take this opportunity to mention that I have also been featured on Resonance FM. That was back in July 2007. A selection of my Frillip Moolog sculptures were present at one of the Resonance FM's 'Month of Sundays' live recordings. I really enjoyed my radio experience and would jump at the chance if invited again. 'Bob and Roberta Smith' is another Resonance FM regular.