Hi,

I don’t know how you’re feeling at the moment, but I’m feeling a little lost, a tad disconnected, and definitely at sea.

And the sea is not still.

I can say that portentously. Like it’s profound. But it’s also a statement of fact. The sea is defined by its motion.

There’s a train of thought that I can almost keep track of, that starts in seeming stillness in 2021, sitting on the deck of my friend’s boat, on a still mid winter day, moored in the Tāmaki inlet. Serendipitously a boat motored by setting everything in motion. A clamour of ropes and wires straining under tension and a clatter of objects swinging against each other.

It felt like there was room for a metaphor there, an inherent elasticity in the moment. If I could just follow the thought, there would be a path from that moment to here – to a collection of protoype bell buoys.

But I keep losing track of that thought, like it is too elastic to hold.

So, without further comment, I’ve made a cluster of floating objects that sound.

Melissa

Audio Foundation
17 May – 17 June
12 – 4pm, Tuesday – Saturday
Sub-Basement of the Parisian Tie Factory, 4 Poynton Terrace (Off Pitt St or behind St Kevins Arcade) AK Central

Navigational aids
Prototype floating sea marks to be sounded by wake, wind, and swell.

Pine, nylon, brass, ceramic, epoxy, stainless steel, galvanised steel, lead, mud and dried water.
Single channel video loop: 6:01 m

Credits:
First camera and editing: Melissa Laing
Second camera: Hank Snell
Line producer: James Littlewood
Creative consultants: James Littlewood
Robin Paulson

A floating
Main date: 27 May 12:00 – 14:00
Reserve date: 10 June 11:30 – 13:30

This event is weather dependent, and the site will be determined by the wind forecast.
Confirmation of the location will be made on 24 May via the Audio Foundation Facebook and Instagram accounts, and an announcement regarding the weather will be made by 9am on Saturday 27 May should the forecast require it.