The Bangalore Residency currently running at the Goethe Institut promotes inter-cultural collaboration and this year’s edition sees 10 artists from Germany exploring different aspects of Bengaluru as a city to create works of art that provoke thought. do.

As part of this programme, artists working across disciplines are collaborating with various organizations in Bengaluru to create works that highlight the identity of the city.

Chelsea Leventhal, originally from the United States, is a sound installation artist now based in Berlin, Germany. “During this residency, we are all part of a partner institution that allows us to be in a group of 10 artists together, and at the same time, have our own unique working styles. It’s been an interesting and unique experience,” says Chelsea, whose partner organization is Mara, a media and arts group.

Chelsea says her project, titled The Hands, Amplified – The Voices, Responding, consists of the sounds produced by manual labor in Bengaluru. “For the most part, we have concentrated our work in one part of Koramangala, looking at various occupations and those that involve the use of tools and machines as well as physical exertion.”

“The recordings I’m working with are of people doing metal work. There is a blacksmith, and at the dhobi ghat where clothes are washed and voices are heard in the sewing workshop.

If you’re wondering how one creates a sound display as part of an art exhibit, Chelsea says, “This project may take different forms in the future, but I will be using multiple speakers at the Cubbon Park subway station. “I will present a sound installation.” Art in Transit, a blocked subway exit. The sounds will be played in a long tunnel, essentially allowing visitors to step into these different sound landscapes.

“In addition, I have commissioned four young artists from the Koramangala slum cluster who grew up there to respond with prose and poetry to these recordings. They may be looking at their own memories and associations, concerns or even pride associated with these sounds,” she adds.

The young artistes – Robinson, Satyarani, Sanghamitra and Suryajohn – are members of Big Bang by Marga, a community-led organization in Koramangala that trains underprivileged youth in performing arts. “That connection was made through my host and I am very grateful for that, because these artists have an interesting perspective of Bangalore, a city caught between tradition and innovation, a city where sound is a big theme,” She says.

“Which sounds are prioritized and which are shut out? Which sounds are endangered or threatened with extinction? The idea was to get youth to respond creatively to these sounds.”

Robinson, Satyarani, Sanghamitra and Suryajohn. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Elaborating on the nature of her work, Chelsea says, “I am interested in sound as a social phenomenon because it is infused with so many emotions. I see how people feel at home in a city, especially a city like Bengaluru; The role of sound in this is often underestimated. It’s a complex topic and that’s what made this project important to me.”

Bengaluru is perhaps not the only city with its own pandemonium, but Chelsea says the immense change the city has undergone over the years has made it an interesting choice to examine critically. “Sounds such as traffic and construction are given unlimited priority while the sounds of craftsmanship and physical labor are endangered due to the uncertainty of the lives of those involved.”

Chelsea, who has been working with this media for the past 10 years, has a background in electroacoustic composition, and is, “interested in the social relationship of sound and presenting pieces outside of a concert hall. So most of my work is in the form of installations and combined with visual elements.

From Chelsea Leventhal’s work The Sound House IV | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Hands, Amplified – The Voices, Responding by Chelsea Leventhal will be performed on November 24 from 3pm to 6pm at Cubbon Park Metro Station along with Living in Liminality, a work by Firat Yildiz, another Bangalore resident and electronic music artist. Is.