We Find The Body Difficult to Speak
Dawn Yoxall
Patrick Farmer and Sarah Hughes
15 - 26 May 2015, performance 15 May 6:30 - 7:30pm
Patrick Farmer and Sarah Hughes present We Find the Body Difficult to Speak, a new body of work made in response to a series of residencies at Grizedale Forest throughout 2014 and 2015.
The work comprises a series of text scores that form the basis of a number of sound, video and performance works – all of which have been produced in and around Grizedale Forest. These will be exhibited and performed in the galleries at Grizedale Forest Visitor Centre on Friday May 15th 2015. The work builds on the recently published book Yew Grotesque by Patrick Farmer, a text-based engagement with listening written in response to walking at Grizedale and residing in the wooden cabin on the fringe of the forest. The residency and publication were made possible through a partnership between Forestry Commission England and Sound and Music.
This new work makes direct reference to a form of composition that emerged in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s through the work of artists such as John Cage, George Brecht, and Yoko Ono. These artists questioned the limits of composition and influenced many movements connected with minimalism and conceptual art by expanding ideas around authorship and participation, as well as exploring the boundaries of artistic disciplines.
Since 2008 Farmer and Hughes have curated Compost and Height, an online platform for contemporary music and its associated disciplines, which include writing, sculpture and field recording. Both artists have performed and exhibited internationally, including the John Cage Centenary Celebration at the BBC Proms 2012. They co-edit Wolf Notes, a journal that reflects on current music practices, and have independent practices that explore sculpture, writing, sound and composition. Sarah Hughes is the current Composer in Residence at South London Gallery.
