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Songsmith (Cradle of Humankind)
Collection of 10 unique artworks
Sound sculpture Various dimensions Rock, kiaat, resin, copper alloy, speaker, circuit 2016 - 2017 Songsmith is a trade mark of Jenna Burchell Videos: Songsmith 5|10 Songsmith 7|10 Songsmith 8|10 Songsmith 9|10 Songsmith 10|10 |
Songsmith (Cradle of Humankind) is part of Burchell’s greater Songsmith project consisting of a series of sound instruments embedded into places and objects chosen for their age long histories and rich narratives. The Songsmith project explores how to re-connect people to each other and to the world around them by activating the exquisite cracks, places and objects that narrate the beauty of life lived. ____ THE SONGSMITH PROJECT The Songsmith project is unfolding over time in different objects, places and countries. Artist Jenna Burchell shaped the word Songsmith (n. v.phr.) in her practice to refer to a golden instrument that she uses to repair or transform an object or place in order to reveal an aural narrative. In creating a Songsmith artwork Burchell follows a method based on the Japanese art and philosophy of Kintsukuroi; this is the art of repairing broken pottery with gold lacquer, and in so doing the acknowledging that piece is more beautiful for having been broken and showing it’s time-worn history. The artist borrows from Kintsukuroi both visually and philosophically to allude to the passing of time in her work. Concurrently the songsmith repair has a functional reason; by forging a songsmith into an object or place it becomes a sensor. It is because of this that Burchell is able to create an interactive archive, holding within a song of time and memory: a song that can be revealed when the audience bring their hands near to the Songsmith artwork. “I relate my Songsmith artworks to ritualistic, artefacts of modern storytelling; they allow me to reveal hidden landscapes of knowledge, experience and memory to new audiences. I feel that a completed Songsmith’s beauty lies in its fluency between; the real world and digital technology, storytelling and people, contemporary art and untold history” - Jenna Burchell ____ AN ANCIENT ROCK TRIPTYCH In late 2015 Burchell began work on a triptych in her Songsmith project: a triptych made from ancient rocks found in three prehistoric, geographic locations: the Cradle of Humankind, The Great Karoo, and the Vredefort Dome. Burchell chose these sites as they each represent a moment of time wherein the world shifted: they are markers of change in our ancient history. The ancient rock triptych is formed into three collections named after their geographic locations. At each location Burchell embarks on an expedition to collect and archive ancient fractured rocks. In each collection a rock is selected following four rules: A rock must be found within the relevant geographic site; A rock must be naturally fractured in two or more pieces; The fractured pieces must become a single whole; A rock must be beautiful in form once made whole. Each completed artwork is titled with the GPS co-ordinate of where the corresponding rock was found. This co-ordinate is engraved onto the plinth. At these locations, with the help of geophysicists, Burchell records the ground’s electromagnetism and translates it into harmonic, mathematical tonalities. Each song represents a recording of the layers of earth going down six meters beneath the rock’s final resting place: eons of time in geological terms. This allows each rock to sing a song unlike any that can be heard: a voice of time. ____ THE CRADLE OF HUMANKIND Songsmith (Cradle of Humankind) is part one of the triptych. It represents the sites ancient evolutionary past as the birthplace of man around 10 million years ago. The rocks and sound were collected during an expedition like process while on research residency at Nirox Sculpture Park. As Burchell in the area she collected naturally fractured rocks. These rocks were then carefully repaired with the songsmith process. Once this golden repair was integrated into the rocks it became a sensor for human contact. Upon bringing your hand near to the rocks each will sing a unique song. Each song is generated from the raw electro-magnetic reading recorded from beneath a rock’s original resting place. The resulting sound sculpture acts as a time capsule imbued by a place in time, connecting the present with an ancient history. Songsmith (Cradle of Humankind) was created with specialised assistance from Open Ground (Geophysicists). Read more about this work in my article Switching a Brush for a Motherboard. ____ REVIEWS
“Burchell has connected and interlocked cultures, communities and individuals in a single rock. She captures an essence of humanity, and our desire to be bound together, united as one entity. Her work, therefore, generates a cultural capital in which common ground anchors people.” - Art Versed, Isabel Gilchrist, 2017. "Burchell’s work is not only groundbreaking but has a vitality (...) Burchell’s own singing stones, fusing the ancient with the modern, could be seen as a symbol for Africa." - New African Magazine, Beverly Andrews, 2018.
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SONGSMITH PROJECT HISTORY Songsmith (Bangor City), installation | 2015 Songsmith (Cradle of Humankind), collection | 2016 - 2017 Songsmith (Yorkshire Sculpture Park), installation | 2017 Songsmith (The Great Karoo), collection | 2017 -2018 Songsmith (Fragile Homes), collection | 2018 - Songsmith (Vredefort Dome), collection | upcoming |
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