Sometimes when I'm bored at a party or at a band, I have to admit, I go to the toilet. Often I'll have this little leap of happiness, that amidst it all, I can lock myself away for a moment and pretty much do what ever I want. Usually have a pee and read the lame graffiti.
Lauren Brown has been interested in these kind of public / private moments in her practice for sometime. Her project "Cone of Silence" at First Site is much better than you average public toilet. She's created a cozy and inviting womb of a space to offer a moment of privacy within a very public space.
She's made a sound-proofed, acoustically ‘private’ space out of dense red felt. Developed specifically for the First Site Gallery stairwell, the crawlspace is a place to get away from it all for a while. A spot to think, feel or dream in. A quiet spot of sonic solitude whilst still in ‘public’.
Lauren says, "It's a space that is part of my research into headphones and acoustic privacy; a site-specific work that recreates the actions we take when we put our headphones on - we create a little niche for ourselves to be unheard. a choice over our sonic environment.
"Inspired, of course, by Maxwell Smart and the Cone of Silence from the Get Smart TV series ... oh, and some more serious influences like Bachelard, Adorno, Debord and Bull, but there'll be an essay available at the gallery for all you freaks who are interested in cultural theory/aesthetics."
Cone of Silence; Lauren Brown.
First Site Gallery, Swanston St, Melbourne 3000
15 – 26 September, 2009
Tuesday 15 September 5:30 – 7:30pm