Blak Box: A room for sound and a space for storytelling

摘要

In June 2017,I was invited by Western Sydney-based Urban Theatre Projects (UTP) to design a pavilion that would enable a deep listening experience. The purpose of the public art project was to connect visitors to concepts of Indigeneity through sound and form via a series of commissioned sound pieces comprising music, poetry and language. The commission required a "room for sound" as well as a construction methodology that would ensure it could be easily assembled, disassembled and relocated around Australia with minimum labour and cost. The intent of Blak Box is to travel throughout many Countries on this continent. When Indigenous people in Australia speak of Country, it is understood in a special way. This is not limited to spiritual and sustainable relationships but, in the context of this project, it shall suffice to characterize this connection as one of belonging. I could not think of a better way to remind the visitor of the Country they stand on than by exposing the real ground below them and offering a direct physical connection. The original design proposal also included the burning of the ground prior to the erection of the structure in order to extend an olfactory condition and remind the visitor of the traditional use of fire as a tool of Country.