Elizabeth Withstandley's "From Far Away Across The Universe" is the third part of
a multi phase project that started in the summer of 2011. It began
with the launch of a website to collect stories about a friend, Matt
Winthrop, who had passed away the prior year. The website contained a
built in audio recorder, enabling people to speak privately and tell
their story of Matt. Since stories become the record of our existence,
the idea was that through these stories a stranger could get an
understanding of a person they had never met.
The London based artist Cathy Ward was
enlisted to go to a concert by the band Spiritualized and experience it
for Matt. The 37 audio recordings collected on the website were
compiled onto a CD and sent to Cathy, along with a ticket to the
concert. She was instructed to listen to the recordings prior to the
concert so that she could get an idea of whom Matt was and experience
the concert for him. She was also asked to document her experience at
the concert in the form of audio, video and photography.
The installation presents the recorded concert
audio over a video featuring the waveform representation of the show.
Excerpts of the 37 recorded stories can be heard on the opposing side of
the room. Viewers can step in and out at any point and experience part
of the concert and stories, allowing them to be a part of the event
themselves as a transient presence through Matt and Cathy.
"Channel", a short film Cathy created in response to her participation in the project, accompanies the piece.
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