East {hyphen} West sound impressions of Istanbul
- Submitting institution
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University of Central Lancashire
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 18227
- Type
- L - Artefact
- Location
- Istanbul
- Open access status
- -
- Month of production
- December
- Year of production
- 2015
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
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- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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1
- Research group(s)
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-
- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- The East {hyphen} West - Artefact; Vinyl Record and Artist book questions how a multifaceted object mirrors the crossing of the political, metaphorical, geographical border created by the Bosphorus Strait. How in a climate where migration, and refuge are common, can representations of a dual identity city, divided by sea, influence the way its narrative is read? Can inner listening and intimate listening change the way we create and read the visual?
As lead artist, I examined the shifting sonic and visual landscape at a critical moment (2014), in which Erdogan was elected president of Turkey. I explored the cultural complexities of Istanbul where the ‘invisible’ boundaries of ‘West’ and ‘East’ are reflected in architecture, community, and soundscape. Through engagement with Lopez’ immersion in transcendental listening, Westerkamp’s acute listening to voices and human interaction and Cusack’s positivity in everyday sound environments, I understood how listening and an analysis of a spectrum of soundscapes takes place at a location even before an interaction with the technological.
My recordings of sound with binaural microphones, where monitoring is not possible was echoed by the use of a GoPro camera without a view finder, forcing the gathering of data through listening and looking, thereby becoming an embodiment of the protagonist in the city, mirroring their actions. My field recordings combined a macro aural and visual cityscape with micro, sub-aqua sounds and images taken from beneath the Bosporus.
I then designed the artists book in which folio leaves with sequences of my stills are placed opposite essays by Engin, Unal and Artut. These I threaded together with my images of the Bosporus, concealing fragments of the re-told city soundscapes by Sanac and Himid, thus creating a new narrative layer. This then formed a concertina book containing the vinyl recordings of this new knowledge.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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