Victoria Hume, a musician and artist who is working with us on the development of our forthcoming exhibition on voice-hearing, writes:
I have been lucky enough to be commissioned to make a work of art called ‘What is it like to hear voices?’ for Hearing Voices: Suffering, Inspiration and the Everyday, an exhibition running at Palace Green Library from November 2016 to February 2017.
The artwork will use sound, text and animated image to explore the experience of hearing voices, and will be developed in collaboration with people who hear voices primarily through a day-long workshop at the Learning Centre in Durham’s Palace Green Library, 10-3pm on Saturday July 9. If you are someone who hears or has heard voices and would like to participate in this workshop, please email Victoria Patton (Hearing the Voice) or telephone 0191 334 8163. We will be able cover travel expenses for participants within the region, and will provide lunch and refreshments on the day.
About the workshop
In preparation for this project I have listened to and read many people’s stories about hearing voices, in the form of text, audio recordings, or video. What I’d like to make through this workshop is something that focuses more on the feeling of the experience. Someone might tell us that their voice is frightening or comforting, but how do we know what that feels like? That’s what I want to get to here, using sound, text and image.
As a participant in the workshop you will be invited to reflect on your experiences through ongoing conversations and a series of activities including drawing/mapping on paper, creative writing and activities using techniques from applied drama. Some parts of the workshop may be recorded and recordings used in the final artwork, but only with your written permission and in a way that can remain anonymous if you wish. My hope is that the workshop will give all participants a chance to discuss experiences in a new way, to find new angles on something familiar, and to be involved in making something concrete out of ephemeral experience that’s difficult to transmit to other people.
If you would like to participate in the project but are unable to attend the workshop, or would prefer to speak privately to me, please contact me via email.
About me
I am a musician and artist with a long history of arts management in the NHS. For the last few years I have been working on a project on delirium in intensive care, and am fascinated by the permeable boundaries between internal and external realities and in our emotional and sensory landscapes. To find out more please visit my website and if you have any questions please feel free to get in touch by email.