Went to New Art Gallery Walsall a few weeks ago. (I did blog about it) and saw everything, twice, but didn’t watch Zarina Bhimji’s Yellow Patch. I had a bit of a headache and didn’t want to sit in the dark with loud music for half an hour. These things happen.
Of course, as luck would have it, at my tutorial I played my new bit of sound messing about and my tutor asked if I’d seen it “I’m going this weekend” I lied. It turned out not to be a lie, because I did. Have you seen it?
Well…
To be honest I was completely stunned by it. Blown away. Gobsmacked. Inspired. So much so, I spent all Sunday with my headphones on, re-recording and remixing all my bits and pieces of sound. Yellow Patch is visually stunning – still, calm, like postcards in a way. Crowded with people who aren’t there. But the sound astonished me in its complexity… or do I mean simplicity? Sometimes the sounds were layered on top of each other, providing rich texture. Sometimes it was silent, and sometimes a single shot of sound sat alone, waiting to be absorbed, then the layering started again. It was like patchwork, plain pieces, texture, little bits, big bits, in your face bits that are far too brash, and small bits of sheer audio pleasure, and delicately embroidered bits that just sang.
I think this work has affected me more than anything I’ve seen in the last couple of years… and I’m sure will have a lasting affect on the way I conduct myself when putting sound together.
I’ve seen it twice more since Saturday, and I might go again at the weekend, to try to commit it to memory.
It’s also showing at the Whitechapel Gallery if you’re in the capital and aren’t lucky enough to have access to Walsall.
