Solo for Computer and Tape (2020)

Installation film for The National Gallery, London

I was delighted to be given the opportunity to make new work for The National Gallery in London as part of Myra Hess day 2020. Coinciding with the gallery’s closure in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the project explored both Hess’ legacy, the broader cultural heritage of Baroque music (which Hess helped repopularise in the 20th Century), and the decimation of the UK’s live music scene in 2020.

During the Second World War, Hess curated and performed in a hugely popular series of concerts at The National Gallery. Understanding the need for live music in times of national crisis, Hess offered something we were left without in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent ‘social-distancing’ restrictions.

For Solo for Computer and Tape, I explored a ‘hauntological’ aesthetic to engage with these ideas. First, I processed recordings of Baroque music (by Bach, Purcell, and Scarlatti) that Hess had made in the early 20th Century to generate new ambient textures. In the installation, two reel-to-reel tape machines (from the 1970s) ‘play’ this processed historical source material, while guitar pedals and analogue synthesisers add to the sonic texture, all controlled using an automated laptop. In this way, the work aimed to generate a ‘performance’ without human performers; melancholy and ‘haunting’ when presented (and filmed) in the empty gallery.

A film of the installation, as well as a short introductory film are available to watch below. With thanks to The National Gallery for commissioning the work.