A Galaxy of Suns
Michaela Gleave with Amanda Cole and Warren Armstrong
2016 Bristol Biennial: In Other Worlds
4 & 8 September
Staple Hill Tunnel, Bristol
A Galaxy of Suns ‘plays’ the stars as they rise and set over 360˚ of the horizon. Tracking the Earth’s motions through space, the work documents in real-time the audience’s precise position in relation to the stars, sonifying stellar data to create a sound and visual composition unique to their location in space and time. A Galaxy of Suns works with parameters such as location on the horizon, brightness, size, age and chemical composition of stars, and translates them into sonic and aesthetic variables including rhythm, pitch, volume, panning, colour and light intensity.
The performance features a 36-part chorus, singing the stars as they rise and set over the horizon. A specifically created app delivers microtonal sonic cues directly to the 36 individual parts, in real-time for the location. Performers are spatially mapped across the performance venue to represent location across the galaxy, with the parts divided according to the ‘pitch’ of each individual star: the slower burning cooler red stars corresponding to the bass notes, and the faster burning hot blue stars corresponding to the upper registers. Sampled tuned percussion accompanies the chorus, with large-scale lighting tracking the progress of the choristers as they sing their way across the sky; the composition building until all 360 degrees of the horizon is represented in sound and light.
Credits:
Lead artist - Michaela Gleave
Composer - Amanda Cole
Programming - Warren Armstrong
Advising Astronomer - Michael Fitzgerald
Costumes - Katy B Plummer
Managing Producer - Hannah Sullivan
Choir Leader - Sam Burns
Choir - Singers from Gurt Lush and Bristol MAN Chorus
Lighting - Graeme Hogg, Rod Mclauchlan, James Vickery
Assistant - Jack Drewry
Filming and editing - Artur Tixiliski
Sound recording and design - Jonny Pryor
Produced in association with Experimenta Media Arts
Launched in association with Dark Mofo, Tasmania and Bristol Biennial, UK
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
A Galaxy of Suns is supported by the NSW Government through Arts NSW.
For further details visit
agalaxyofsuns.net