Things that go bump in the night

Things that go bump in the night

21 July – 7 August 2011

Two new public projects by Laresa Kosloff and Leber and Chesworth for the City Square

Melbourne artists Sonia Leber and David Chesworth have recorded hundreds of intimate vocalisations between people and their animals for a new sound-work that will emanate from the City Square from 21 July.

Part of a series of new works curated by ACCA for the City Square, Leber and Chesworth’s We,The Masters captures the inventive and at times hilarious things we say to our pets.

The artists have used raw material from everyday life – parks, veterinary practices, animal training schools, farms and zoos – to capture the highly personal way people talk to their animals. We, The Masters captures the various tones, melodies and patterns of speech used by owners when communicating with their pets, often formed through repetition and habit. With the sounds of the animals edited out, the voices will appear to be calling out directly, and commanding, cajoling and encouraging, the passerby.

We, The Masters will show alongside a new work by Laresa Kosloff, Office Skate, which captures people undertaking work and leisure activities within the built environment. Kosloff’s Super 8 footage of controlled office environments are digitally montaged with freer activities such as ice-skating and ‘Parkour’, and will be projected onto the walls of the City Square to blur recreation and bureaucracy.

“The projects both reveal an uncanny displacement of public, private and business activities brought together on the recreational place of the public plaza. Leber and Chesworth’s work encourages questions about freedom of movement and governmental control in a public space, and Kosloff’s films turn the city into a cinematic location full of kinetic charisma.”

City Square from 21 July – 7 August, 5-10pm
FREE

Things That Go Bump In The Night, supported by the City of Melbourne’s Late Night Programming initiative, is designed to engage artists with City Square and encourage discovery and delight in those who pass by.

MEDIA INFORMATION: Katrina Hall on 0421 153 046 or email kathall@ozemail.com.au
Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, 111 Sturt Street, Southbank.
Gallery hours: Tuesday-Friday 10am–5pm. Weekends 11am-6pm. Mondays by appointment. Tel: 03 9697 9999. Admission: Free. www.accaonline.org.au