City of Things - a large-scale sound installation by composer and sound artist Caroline Devine - will be presented in the centre:mk from October 6 until November 5.
Running daily from 10am to 8pm, this ambitious new artwork celebrates the sounds of the unique city of Milton Keynes in its 50th anniversary year.
Led by Bletchley Park working in partnership with The Open University and MK Gallery, this commission forms an integral part of City Club – an Arts Council England funded city-wide
arts programme inspired by the original cultural plans for Milton Keynes.
Describing the piece, Devine states: "City of Things focuses on the voices, sounds and signals of Milton Keynes - exploring the city through the ears, rather than the eyes. The
sound installation comprises field recordings, song, chant and poetry that I have recorded and developed in Milton Keynes over the past year. Local choirs, Buddhists, football fans,
traffic, the dawn chorus, bats, insects, the wind and the rain are among the sounds of the city woven throughout my composition.
"I will present the work via a system of resonators across the large windows of the grade II listed shopping centre building and it will also be played periodically over the tannoy system - spreading the voices of the city throughout the entire shopping centre building."
As well as combining the voice of nature with the voices of the people of Milton Keynes in song and chant, Devine invited performance poet Murray Lachlan Young to collaborate with
her on a number of site-specific compositions. Lachlan Young has written six poems in response to the landscape of Milton Keynes that Devine has woven throughout the work.
Lachlan Young has also provided the voice of poet, William Cowper - who lived locally in the eighteenth century and wrote extensively about the area. Devine has sonified a number of Cowper’s works and these together with the site-specific compositions explore Milton Keynes and its surroundings over a period spanning three centuries.
Iain Standen, chief executive officer of Bletchley Park Trust said: "This has been an interesting project for Bletchley Park to lead on as it combines the use of technology, art and the sounds of the city. We hope that this will be an exciting immersive experience for all to enjoy and to experience Milton Keynes as never before."
Alongside City of Things, Bletchley Park, Cowper & Newton Museum and MK Gallery will deliver creative artist-led activities inspired by the artwork. Bletchley Park will provide playful activities for families with children aged five years and upwards, Cowper & Newton Museum for families with children aged seven years and upwards, and MK Gallery will work with secondary schools.
City of Things is free of charge. The artwork will be installed outside John Lewis in thecentre:mk. The nearest door is South 16.
> Never miss leisure news in Milton Keynes - Follow us on www.twitter.com/thisistotalmk
And on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thisistotalmk
