black ark installation

With the Black Ark installation at Newhaven Fishmarket I'm exploring ideas that communicate the positive nature of the DIY experimental studio culture that Jamaica fostered during the 1970’s when Reggae and then Dub projected a visionary sonic force onto the world stage. I’m using the 4 track reel to reel which sits at the centre of this progressive time of productive studio genius to build a shrine to this attitude. The shrines needs a physical structure so it is here that the actual location of the harbour side fish market and the studio system blend.The most progressive of all studios in Jamaican history was BLACK ARK, the name allows access to many layers of belief and also leads directly to the imagery of arks and all that the name implies. In this installation the fishing boat, particularly the skeleton frames of these boats, supplements the 4 tracks creating structure for the shrine/ assemblage.

This assemblages are populated with all manner of other cultural signifiers which explore this fascinating area of music and the tribalism that surrounds it. Sound will be explored graphically in red with pattern building and bold graphics which create dynamic flow and visualize the music/sound being created for the companion motion graphics / video piece by BLAC IONICA.

The whole project is sponsored by RED STRIPE and the stopframe / motion graphic collaboration which we created during the install will go online towards the end of the month as part of the current MAKE WITH A creative collaborations. The paste ups were placed and stripped and placed again countless times in order to create a cut and paste stop frame in keeping with the studio culture that inspired the idea.