Silent Sound began as a live performance at St. George’s Hall in Liverpool. It was commissioned by A Foundation and presented during the 2006 Liverpool Biennial. The performance was presented again in 2010, at the invitation of AV Festival, at Middlesbrough Town Hall.
Silent Sound is also presented as an ambisonic gallery installation.
The performance was an exercise in highlighting the trust and belief that precedes non-verbal modes of communication in art, music and performance. There was much about Silent Sound that suggested that it was nothing more than a glorious piece of extravagant flummery, but I for one was ready to surrender myself (albeit temporarily) to the gilt of the concert hall, the lush orchestration and the spurious but alluring offer of transcendence through techniques beyond my understanding or control.
Jonathan Griffin, Frieze
A potent mix of art, music and psychological experimentation, Silent Sound also borrows techniques from the Victorian séance room and the pseudoscience of subliminal communication. The artists attempt to employ the audience’s mind, imagination and beliefs as a site for the work. Inspired in part by Ira and William Davenport, Victorian entertainers famed for attempting to contact the dead using their ‘spirit cabinet’. For Silent Sound, the artists were seated within a soundproof cabinet, designed to echo the Davenport’s spirit cabinet. Together they repeat a spoken phrase, their voices fed into their Silent Sound machine, where it is embedded silently into the live musical recital. The original score was created by J. Spaceman (Spiritualized).
The performance begins with an introductory address by Dr. Ciarán O’Keeffe, who is perhaps best known as the resident sceptic on TV’s ‘Most Haunted’. Dr. O’Keeffe also consulted on the many psychological aspects of this project. The team also included sound engineer Charles Poulet and Andrew Bolton, an acoustic weapons expert formerly employed by the Ministry of Defence. Forsyth & Pollard’s machine and cabinet were fabricated by Manchester-based artist Noah Rose.
Each person attending the performance was given a programme that included information about the project, an introduction by Forsyth & Pollard and a text by Ilsa Colsell. A slot in the back of the programme was designed to accommodate a compact disc. As they left, the audience were given a live recording of the performance they had just witnessed. The graphic design for Silent Sound was executed by Chris Bigg at v23.
Silent Sound Middlesbrough programme and live CD
Limited edition of 1,000 copies
A strictly limited edition was produced to accompany Silent Sound 2010, presented as part of AV Festival 10 at Middlesbrough Town Hall. The package includes a live recording produced on the night featuring an introduction by Dr. Ciarán O’Keeffe and an original score by J. Spaceman (Spiritualized). Conducted by Matthew Wood.
Limited to only 1,000 copies, 250 of which were given to the audience attending the performance. Designed by Chris Bigg (v23). Numbered and signed by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard and J. Spaceman.
