Sounding Memory; Present Body explores the similarities and differences between memories, experience and our anticipated memories of the future whilst bringing our attention to the connection these have with the body.

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_Part One is a stand alone piece about noticing and bringing attention to the emotions in the body and listening to them.
It aims to acknowledge the experience in the body as being as real as what is perceived externally by the body. It is also a generative process, creating a new, fresh and distinct memory to be used for the performance of part two.

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_Part Two focusses on the ‘time-travelling’ nature of the brain’s storage of memory. Our thoughts are constantly flitting between memories of the past and projected memories of the future because we use the same areas of the brain to perform these two types of thinking. While this is incredibly powerful for our ability to learn and problem solve, it can mean we lose touch with our present, experiencing self, making us ruminate and feel anxious. It also presents a challenge when overcoming negative experiences in our lives as we will automatically re-experience these memories when faced with similar situations, even when we want to shape the future into a more positive experience.

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This piece was inspired by the grounding techniques used by survivors of sexual violence who filled out an online survey as well as the ‘Deep Listening’ practice of Pauline Oliveros. The spin score represents an extra-terrestrial gas-giant planet because experiences of dissociation of survivors of sexual violence can feel like being on an alien world. Gravity is responsible for gradually slowing the score down.

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If you would like a full copy of this score including videos, please get in touch.