Abstract

'Fray' explores interrelationships between music and woven fabric. The project draws ion the cultural, historical, numerical and textural aspects of textile weaving, as informed by the traditions and practices of cloth production on the Isle of Mull. Through compositions, associated writings and audio tracks, the project invites audiences to consider pattern, hue and texture as translated via the interwoven sounds and rhythms of the island, including the natural soundscape and the Gaelic language. The work seeks to fray boundaries between music/sound, language and woven materials. It also aims to stimulate knowledge exchange between the domains of sound art and fabric production, and to encourage listeners to meditate on the connections between the visual, auditory and tactile senses.

Motivated in part by autobiography, and having grown up immersed in the language and culture of rural Greece, my residency is sensitive to the striking geographical parallels that exist between Mull and my home region (Pelion) in Greece. During my one-year Associate Artist residency at An Tobar and Mull Theatre, I am exhibiting weaving and textile-inspired audio work and experimenting in situ, working with weavers, spinners, musicians and sound-making objects.

The first residency exhibition ran from 18th-25th April 2023 and included a public reading at An Tobar of some of the published and unpublished writing I have produced during my Associate Artist tenure. A performance of a 'musical weave' created during the residency (Bayan Weave #1) will also be performed by accordion virtuoso Stanislav Venglevski and live streamed from the USA on June 4th 2023.