This project is meant to synthesize the many personal, historical, and temporal convictions that informed my interpretation of Olivia Whetung’s piece in the Soundings Exhibition titled, Strata. Tying in to the Strata affect, I decided to layer in recordings of the beads being poured as well as familiar sounds of the UBC Ladner Clock Tower hourly chime, understanding the tremendous influence those bells have on our perception of time. I also felt it essential to recognize the space this tower inhabits—its juxtaposition to the Indian Residential Schools History and Dialogue Centre, the nearby Reconciliation Pole, and of course, the university’s being situated on ancestral, unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nation.
The central inquiry of the Soundings Exhibition is, “how can a score be a tool and call for decolonization.” This video provides more questions than answers. I cannot say whether this performance on the Ladner carillon truly disrupted the impact of colonization on this land called Vancouver or my own artistic practice. However, this music making experience certainly challenged my artistry as someone who is trained to perform Western art music in the context of a concert hall. Performing these beads, I listened from an array of new perspectives, created sounds freely, and was critically engaged with my perception of space and time like never before.