Civic Sound Archive, 2022. Installation image. Photo: Stephen White & Co
‘Civic Sound Archive’ is the first solo exhibition by Vietnamese artist Moi Tran. The exhibition at Peer Galley is a presentation of an on-going process driven project that compromises a collection of sounds and textiles. The project is an ongoing process of knowledge-making that uses sound to map personal experience and celebrates the power of archival practice in marginal spaces.
Text taken from Peer Gallery press statement:
“Over the past two years Tran has invited numerous individuals, predominantly from East and Southeast Asian communities, to contribute audio and visual recordings of sounds, recited songs, prayers, stories and poems in various languages and dialects. The result is a growing, open-source collection of sonic and visual material. Tran has called this process of gathering and recording audio contributions as ‘sonic witnessing’, where the invitation from Tran often leads to fleeting, transitory and non-mediated performances. This approach to recording personal expression refuses easy categorisation and provides a space for self-determined personal histories.”
Civic Sound Archive Film I, 2022: digital video and audio, duration 2:14:13, looped. Editor: Sasha LLyukevich. Photo: Mylinh Nguyen
Sign Chorus Banners, 2022: textiles, applique, hand stitching, embroidery. Photo: Stephen White & Co
Sign Chorus Banners was produced in collaboration with teachers and students at Central Deaf Services in Da Nang, Vietnam. Each tapestry reflect on alternative forms of emotional expression prioritising non-vocal forms of communication.
The exhibition runs until 3rd September.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Moi Tran was born in Vietnam in 1977 and now lives and works in Hackney, London. Her practice explores the intersection between contemporary art and live performance through theatre, text, sound, installation, and video. Her recent works examine theorisations on emotional reckoning as valued knowledge in the politics of diaspora and marginalised groups.
Peer Gallery is a neighbourhood space for art and culture based in Hoxton, East London providing an experimental space for artists to explore new directions in their work.
