VIRTUAL EXHIBITION – Sculptural Murmurings

16 passionate movers, whose bodies have stories to tell, came together to create work in response to bird-inspired soundscapes at Fabrica Gallery, Brighton. This virtual tour, starting at Fabrica, continues via other arts organisations’ websites. It offers a glimpse of this joyful process during three intense and exhilarating days, captured in film, images and sound.

  It was 3 days that have changed me forever – participant

So, what is Sculptural Murmurings?

Sculptural Murmurings brings together a cross-disciplinary team of collaborators, with 16 participant movers, over one week at Fabrica, Brighton, as part of my Making Space Residency there (6-10 September 2021).

Rather than using clay, the sculptor experiments with shaping a dynamic modelling material – a group of dancers – using soundscapes over headphones, to create unique bird-like yet human murmurings.

We welcomed a diverse group of participants to explore different physicalities and challenge norms of who can perform and right ways of moving.

I’ve been pretty emotional this week and just wanted to reach out again and thank you for this opportunity to take part & help create something magnificent & beyond what I thought might be possible! – participant

The six soundscapes reflect my artistic practice, harnessing sounds from my sculpture studio and the recordings of birds in the scrubland made during my current residency at Knepp Estate, renowned for its rewilding and increasing biodiversity.

This virtual tour provides a window into this intensive and joyful process, through soundscapes, film and images. It also captures our movers immersing themselves with gusto with guest artist Helen Goodwin for movement mark making. 

The virtual exhibition finished on the 18 January 2022, but the films and a number of photos and soundscapes are archived here.

I loved the total freedom to experiment and improvise, no rules, nothing prescribed but excellent direction and encouragement  from the team – participant

Blurred image of a dancer in movement on the dance floor, barefooted, with arms raised in the air, and orange trousers
Movement to Soundscape – Photographer Helen Goodwin

The Sculptural Murmurings Team

Artistic Director: Hazel Reeves; Dance and movement direction and facilitation: Rosaria Gracia and Maria da Luz, with advisory input from Welly O’Brien; Films: Roz Shearn and Ean Currie; Soundscapes: Ean Currie and Hazel Reeves; Guest artists: Olga Lidia Saavedra Montes de Oca (photographer) and Helen Goodwin (movement mark facilitator); Administrative support: Jennifer Kafetz.

Thanks to…

….our Sculptural Murmurings Exhibition Hosts: Fabrica, Gallery Different, Society of Women Artists, Art Junction, Blott Studio, Hazel Reeves Sculpture. And thanks to our other partners, Knepp Estate and Hove Civic Society.