8 Oct 2022

 

FREE EVENT

JOLTED Gallery Courtyard 

342 High St
Northcote 3070

TIME

Saturday 8 October 2022, 2pm – 5pm

Poetic Flock is an outdoor public art constellation of eight black tepees, which each house brief sonic performance for one audience member at a time. 

About

One performer. One audience member. A one-of-a-kind textural and aural experience. Situated in the JOLTED Gallery Courtyard, Poetic Flock is an outdoor public art constellation of 8 black tepees, each big enough for just two people. Within each, a brief sonic performance unfolds a work solely for you – the only other person in the room. The Poetic Flock is an experiential aural, textural and performative exhibit with a decidedly intimate twist – a free-form, immersive art experiment with a rotating roster of local text art and poetry performers curated by leading Australian performance text artist berni m janssen. Poetic Flock will be running for 3 hours alongside the opening of the Tactile & Tabulations exhibition in the JOLTED Gallery. 

Image: Tim McNeilage. 

Artist Biography

berni m janssen

Text artist, creates with artists and people in communities. Words are at the heart. Books published include Xstatic, mangon and lake/vale. Texts have been published in print and online literary magazines and anthologies including: Cordite; Heat 12; Meanjin; La Traducterie. Australian Poets Today. (France); Poetry and Gender. UQP; She’s Fantastical, An Anthology of Australian Womens Non-Realist Fiction. She is known for her lively/evocative/invigorating/captivating/engaging/ performances. Her work has been presented and performed live at festivals and events, here and overseas, and on radio. Interdisciplinary collaborations with artists including: Warren Burt; Lawrence Harvey; Jodee Mundy, Carolyn Connors, Margaret Trail, James Hullick; have been presented and performed, amongst others: ABC Radio’s: Poetica, New Music Australia, Books and Writing; Aural Text 3 RRR; La Mama Poetica; EN RED 0. VII Symposium of Electroacoustic and Electronic Music (Spain); MIFA. Composer, Chris Dench, has created libretti with berni’s words – ik(s)land(s) performed by Elision, in Brisbane, Los Angeles and Berlin; and n (ich) t performed by Aphids Trio. 

James Hullick

James Hullick is a pioneering Australian sound artist, composer, performer and artistic director. Hullick is CEO of JOLT Arts, the JOLTED Arts Space, and the BOLT Ensemble. Hullick is mentor to The Amplified Elephants and many artists with and without disabilities. Hullick is part of the Duckworth Hullick Duo. 

History

Various versions of the ‘Flock’ work have been presented in the past:  

– Sonic Flock, 2013, Melbourne Festival, Federation Square, featuring 20 musicians with and without disabilities 

– The Nightfall Recurring, 2015, Lights in Winter Festival, Federation Square featuring automated sound sculptures by James Hullick 

– Sonic Flock, 2016, The Book of Daughters, Meat Market, featuring 20 musicians with and without disabilities 

The work becomes a composed improvisation based on the timing and contributions of the artists involved and can be considered a descendant of John Cage’s Roaratorio (1979). 

How to Engage

It’s outdoors and free – just show up. 

All audiences are encouraged to enter via the back of the building: There is a disability ramp and disability parking at the back of the building. The front of the building is not easily accessed by people with ambulation needs and wheel chairs. This is because the building is a heritage site. Within the building the access is in place so that patrons can reach the stage and audience by wheelchair or if they have ambulation requirements. 

Installation / Project Team

berni m janssen – text artist / poet / performer 

James Hullick – Composer