Voice Engine

Cinema acts as a speculative instrument that interrogates partly unique qualities of space. Rosa Barba destabilises the old hierarchy of cinema’s components and lets them interact in new and unforeseen ways.

With Voice Engine, she takes her sculptural approach to a new level of live interaction, in which Rotterdam choirs are the protagonists. The different frequencies of the voices trigger film projectors that project images onto a large window facing the city. The performances will evolve over consecutive days, while the
auditorium/set can also be visited as an installation.

With this piece, she further explores the perpetual transformation of images and their translation through sound. Here the voice determines what we can and cannot see. “My practice reflects an intense interest in a conceptual approach … with cinema being regarded in an architectural
sense, whereby the environment (the space), the screen, and the
projection can be combined or pushed forward to create another space ‘beyond’. A space shot through with a sense of uncertainty and
speculation.”

“Omission is the action of creating a space that
temporally makes use of exclusion for the benefit of highlighting a
non-placed narrative … I have come to the conclusion that it is
only through light that we produce this particular experience of
cinema. In this piece, light and sound define this new space as equal partners.” With special thanks to the Rotterdam choirs Al Wahda Gezamenlijke Koor and Subesa. Also see Talk: Frameworks – Rosa Barba.

installation: Fri 24 Jan, 18:00-22:00, Sat 25 to Tue 28 Jan, 15:00-22:00, WTC Zaal Staal, free admission, performances: Sat 25 and Sun 26 Jan, 17:00 and 20:30, 27 and 28 Jan, 20:30, WTC Zaal Staal, €9, various discounts