A text and sound piece made in response to request for a work to be directly transmitted to Russian troops in Ukraine, as part of a participatory group project organised by SoFA colleague, Michael Mersinis, Spring 2022. As per the title, the text comprises of 167 x 'NO's - equal to 500 characters including spaces - the stipulated requirement for the broadcast to the Russian military.
A simple and direct text, the word ‘NO’, is insistent in its repetition. The audio of this repeated word/composition, transposed into morse code, becomes intentionally persistent and disruptive. Potentially having the capacity to enter someone’s consciousness and get inside their head; perhaps causing them to actually think about saying ‘no’ and to act on it. Even though this might seem to be a reductive text - from which the morse code further strips back any intonation - the word NO is loaded in inferences and meaning: It could be interpreted as a command, instruction, scream, despair, sorrow, or a plea to stop. (In responding to our submission, Michael Mersinis replied,
"the elliptical nature of it is what I am fascinated by
from plea to command and whisper to scream
this is what this is about - an active interruption...") Each transmission will have a multiple made - a small double-sided print approx. A5 size - that will commemorate the transmission. (As well as a potential publication to publish the submissions / include CD of sound pieces, to help the situation in Ukraine by raising funds to support those affected). The use of the word NO and the utilisation of the vehicle of transmission, refer to an earlier sound/light piece, 'NO YES' (2014, CCA Theatre, Glasgow): where two lights, in a darkened theatre space, were controlled by broadcast signals, in order to turn them on and off, in a call and response type relay. 'NO YES' is one work from a series of sound light pieces, including 'Release' (1999, Portikus, Frakfurt) and 'Barbarism' (2005, Klemens Gasser & Tanya Grunert Inc., New York)
It is also related to a piece which was broadcast as part of 'Calling All Agents' event, International Necronautical Society (INS) Broadcasting Unit, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, April 2004. |
| NB: 'NO YES' documentation can be viewed on Instagram here:
<https://www.instagram.com/p/B1KB1OSlye3/?utm_medium=share_sheet>
Images of 'Release' (1999, Portikus, Frakfurt) and 'Barbarism' (2005, Klemens Gasser & Tanya Grunert Inc., New York) can be found on our website / selected works.
This piece also echoes an earlier work broadcast as part of 'Calling All Agents' International Necronautical Society (INS) Broadcasting Unit, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, April 2004. Writer (& INS General Secretary) Tom McCarthy, set up a temporary FM radio station at the ICA and asked various people to submit material to be broadcast. He was interested, in part, with Jean Cocteau’s 1950 film ‘Orphee’ – where a radio picks up communications from the other side. Our contribution to the project was for them to transmit an extract of sound that we sent, saying that, by broadcasting it, ‘it will cause something to happen’. We didn’t say what. In fact, the sound was a control track for a piece of equipment we had made which could turn various electrical equipment on and off and also allow us to control lights in various ways. The consequence we had in mind was that when the sound was broadcast a light would illuminate, in relation to the inhalation and exhalation of a breath.
<http://necronauts.org/caa.htm> |
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