Draad Trek (Pull Wire)

21 Pages·2017·5.31 MB·English

Sound Development City
Artist Expedition 2016
� Madrid–Casablanca
September 6–25, 2016
Brent Meistre
Draad Trek (Pull Wire)
Documentation
About Sound Development City land. The expedition format was developed in collabora-
tion with Heller Enterprises, a Swiss agency for cultural
projects. Sound Development City is financed by Sound
Sound Development City is a three-week artist expedi- Development and put into practice by Heller Enterprises.
tion to two annually changing cities. The expedition crew
consists of a dozen artists coming from different geograph-
ical, cultural and artistic backgrounds. They are selected Artist Expedition 2016
through an open call for projects that is geared towards
artists who distinguish themselves through a process-
oriented approach to their work, their curiosity and an ex- On September 6, 2016, a group of twelve artists from ten
plorative mindset. countries, four team members, one expedition writer and
Sound Development City is a place for artistic re- one radio editor embarked on an expedition to Madrid
search and concepts which benefit from being on the road and Casablanca. For the first time in its five-year history,
and probe urban environments as sites of both playfulness the Sound Development City expedition ventured be-
and social involvement. Here, working theses can be exam- yond the confines of Europe and into Africa.
ined, new project ideas or forms of expression can be tried The artists were selected out of a total of 424 appli-
out and bold visions can be put into practice. The expedi- cants from 66 countries by an international jury consisting
tion offers freedom of choice and action, without the pres- of Hassan Darsi (La Source du Lion, Casablanca), Esther
sure of measurable results — a strong focus is placed on Eppstein (Message Salon, Zurich), Martin Heller (Hel-
process and on daring ideas. ler Enterprises, Zurich), Gianmarco Marchetta (Sound
While the expedition’s target cities serve as reso- Development, Zurich) and Gema Melgar (Matadero Ma-
nating urban space, as work material, sources of inspira- drid/El Ranchito, Madrid). The evaluation was based on
tion and playgrounds for public presentations, the expe- artistic quality and originality, feasibility of realisation as
dition creates a fertile soil for exchange, reflection and well as the research-based approach of the project propos-
cooperation. Sound Development City is also an inward als. The applicants’ inquisitive personality was also taken
journey to personal thought and work patterns, which are into consideration.
challenged and maybe even realigned through the expe- The twelve artists formed a heterogeneous group,
rience of the unknown and the unpredictable. coming from such diverse disciplines as animation film,
Sound Development City is a project by Sound dance, intermedia art, sound art and music. During Sound
Development, a non-commercial, independent and pri- Development City, they worked on ten projects that fol-
vately funded cultural initiative based in Zurich, Switzer- lowed a wide range of subjects and narrative lines.
The first seven days were spent in Madrid, the last and the unfamiliar working situation, and especially to-
eight in Casablanca. The journey in-between, which the wards each other. They arrived with verve, curiosity and a
artists undertook individually by land and by sea, from readiness to take risks, and they preserved this spirit until
one continent to the other, was an integral part of the ex- the last moment. They engaged with the previously un-
pedition; it served as a shift in the working process and of- known cities and their inhabitants, looking for a breeding
fered time for reflection and further research. ground for their projects and research, which they found
In Madrid, the expedition set up its headquarters again and again in various forms. And they endured the
at the artist-run space Nadie, Nunca, Nada, No. — re- unknown and the “not knowing” and adapted their con-
ferred to as NNNN — and in Casablanca at the school cepts to become reality step by step by coming up with
and art space La Parallèle. In Madrid, two of the artists new ideas, sensoria and tools.
had the chance to make use of a gallery space, La Juan; the Through it all, the expedition grew organically to
expedition’s participants also worked with the infrastruc- become a dense experiential space and a shared creative
ture of the self-managed cultural centre Tabacalera. These journey. The agenda, which had purposely been left blank
venues served as workspaces and places for presentations, from the beginning, was steadily filled with spontaneous
rehearsals and workshops but also — especially in Casa- public as well as internal activities that peaked on the
blanca — as oases in the midst of foreign lands. second last day in Casablanca: during the Expedition Dis-
In both cities, the expedition was supported by coveries, all participants presented insights into their
dedicated local teams — fairy godmothers — that provid- working processes.
ed access to the local art scene, collaborators, hidden cor- On September 26, Sound Development City end-
ners and vibrant spots. Through them, the group was wel- ed on the rooftop terrace of La Parallèle in Casablanca
comed with open arms, was immediately introduced to in a comfortable temperature and with emotional words.
cultural peculiarities and had access to the cities’ rough A group of unknown individuals that had started a jour-
edges and abysses, sweet spots and beauty. ney on an extremely hot day in Madrid had become a com-
Sound Development City 2016 was strongly munity of like-minded people saying goodbye with heavy
impacted by the paralyzing heat of Madrid and the pow- hearts.
erful cultural diversity of Casablanca. But more than that,
it was each artist’s single-minded dedication that formed
the expedition and made it a rich, unforgettable and suc-
cessful adventure.
From the very beginning the twelve participants
overwhelmed us with their openness towards the format
Documentation The content found in the following pages comes
mostly from these sources, while certain reflections, Uwe
Lützen’s essay and Andreas Oskar Hirsch’s travelogue
To document these — sometimes fleeting — moments, were added after the fact.
thoughts and artistic experiments, the Sound Develop-
ment City website served as a multi-voiced logbook by
channelling content from various authors and sources: Participants & Projects
texts, sketches, snippets, photos, sound pieces, radio inter-
views and videos added up to become a collective expedi-
tion diary. Dan Allon IL
The artists documented their work, their expe- Visiting the Ghosts of Mrs Swissa
riences and reflections and offered insight into ongoing Vincent Charlebois CA
processes. Nodes
Author Uwe Lützen accompanied the group as an Bernadette La Hengst DE
expedition writer. His mission was to watch and listen, to Café Europa
travel with the group and to document the artists’ work. Sasha Kurmaz UA
During the expedition he published notes, articles and Untitled
personal observations on the Sound Development City Ari-Pekka Leinonen FI
website, which after the journey he processed into an essay I Am Helping My Friend to Think —
that can be read in this book. My Friend Is Helping Me to Idle
The Sound Development City team created a daily Luka & Jela RS
photo journal. Radio interviews with the artists and with We’ll Leave Pieces of Madrid on Our Road
local cultural activists were produced together with artist to Casablanca
and 2014 expedition participant Andreas Oskar Hirsch. Brent Meistre ZA
These were broadcast on the expedition’s online 24/7 Draad Trek (Pull Wire)
web radio, the Gap Station. Agnieszka Pędziwiatr & Rafał Pierzyński PL
Last but not least, the expedition was accompa- DIVAS
nied by local photographers Jonay PMatos in Madrid and Youmna Saba LB
Zakaria Wakrim in Casablanca, both of whom captured 1.2 Seconds Ago — Travelling Notes
the expedition’s atmosphere and the artists’ work through Chris Wood UK
their lenses. Walking with Satellites
Brent
Meistre
Draad Trek
(Pull Wire)
9
Draad Trek (pull wire) is a term used to describe the process of “Draad trek” is a term used when you’re building fences, wire
erecting fences. In its Afrikaans language form, “draad trek” has a fences. So you’re basically stretching and pulling the wire across
deeper significance, evoking remote landscapes, being stranded the landscape, connecting it to a pole. So it’s usually a term that
alone in a vast and empty terrain. is related to landscape and vast expanses. For me here, I’m using
Borders that keep shifting or are being erected begin with those kinds of signifiers around the city, around the bullring, as
a single strand of meshed, razor, barbed or welded wire. The wire, as the thing that encompasses. It controls, contains, it con-
signifier of a single strand of wire is very powerful. Tethering, tains the bull, it contains the city, it contains trees and … broad-
tying, binding — wire is also a very pragmatic material used to er, as it kind of goes out, we’re talking about Europe, we’re talk-
fix many things. ing about Africa, we’re talking about bigger borders and fences.
For Draad Trek, Brent Meistre works with stop-motion So, it’s about kind of access and control.
animation, video and sound to create works that deal critically Excerpt Gap Station interview
and playfully with various sites and spaces. The distance, prox-
imity and connectedness between Europe and Africa is explored
through tensions, bindings and strands, as the impossible task
of pulling one end of a land/landscape closer to the other.
BM Hi. My name is Brent Meistre. I am a photographer and film-
maker from South Africa. —— SDC So, what would be your

priority? Are you a filmmaker and/or a photographer, or …? ——
BM I think, actually, I am a musician. Everything for me revolves
around music. Music sets the tempo, pace for my life, for my
work, for my animations, for my films, for my photography. So
I think I’m a musician who works visually.
Excerpt Gap Station interview

Posted 4.8.2016

SDC What are you bringing to the expedition? —— BM Wire, rope,
string and hope. —— SDC What will you leave in the cities? ——
BM After-images, phantoms and fugitives. —— SDC What are you
hoping to take back from the expedition? —— BM The fire.
Artist Q&A

I’m working on a three-part film, with three different songs. All
these will connect … and also allow things to happen. But the
master plan is a triptych of films.
Excerpt Gap Station interview 10 11
Continual repetition as a way of processing but never coming
to resolution, always an impossibility. And that’s what I’m inter-
ested in. Impossibility of representing — it’s always trying to get
close to it but never getting there.
Excerpt Gap Station interview
Posted 7.9.2016
In Madrid, the first thing I’m looking for is Africa. And I find
Africa. I’m looking for bulls. I’m finding bulls. And I’m pulling
things, connections, together. So it’s names, it’s visuals, it’s sig-
nifiers, it’s roads, it’s paths and those kinds of things. It’s kind of
loose, I’m looking for signifiers, and that’s how I work.
Excerpt Gap Station interview 12 13
14 15
16 17
18 19