TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

9:41 PM
Posted by jodi rose

well have to eat my words now. making so many connections with people in sydney that it's going to be hard to leave. just when I start getting into being here. trying to get my head around that. altho as sophea pointed out, it's good to leave from a position of strength. and have something to come back to.

phil's lovely sister aroha is moving into my room, have a packed weekend of fun socialising arranged for london - mr mutton aka mark mclaren will be loitering on a bridge with intent to stream wireless cables [it makes sense if you read it with the right accents] - just ben was having a sunday morning cuppa but offered support and back-up in any form needed - and the fabulous pete gomes who does gorgeous chalk drawings of shadows with gps data - have to check it out websites below - offered to hold a laundry disco or dinner party or both. then ms lizzie is having me for tea on sunday and of course the lush goddess herself philippa will be back from zagreb on friday, taking me for a relaxation treatment at the sanctuary that evening, and being generally fabulous.

it's amazing how much fun you can have with next-to no money, on the other side of the world. [although of course I'm incredibly grateful for the many many forms of abundance in my life] weekend in sydney would be - stagger to the coffee shop, get the paper, go into the abc and shut myself in a dark room for 12 hours, walk home late at night, sleep, get up sunday morning and think - really should try to relax, then get anxious, give in and go back to work.

although I'm feeling astonishingly stress free this week, considering.
decided that there is a finite amount I can actually get done in... 6 days... and anything else will have to wait.

had a great meeting with densil cabrera and michael bates at syd uni architecture acoustic research lab - very exciting. they're keen to help me with some kind of informal artist research position - going in to chat with the research students on friday. showed me all the fabulous old equipment inherited from defunct departments - rooms of Bruel & Kjoer tone generators, accelerometers with bakelite dials and polished wooden boxes... my god I was in sound geek heaven.
also very cool plans for 72 speaker 64 channel surround sound facility - looking for things to put in it. had all kinds of wild ideas - could realise the global symphony with really funky spatialisation - meeting people who can help me work through these ideas and make things happen is really really really cool.

like the fabulous alex davies, gorgeous sound artist who is running lanfranchis - the venue where my launch is on thursday - and when I asked, can you stream from here? said, hmmm, I've been meaning to set that up - sure, we can do it! I love that. he does beautiful sound work too, exploring all kinds of things that I'm far too incoherent to go into right now - but check out his website. http://schizophonia.com

what else - oh yes, news of the day in fact of the year.

Received my official invitation today for bridge guard residency in Sturovo.
Yes I will be the Bridge Guard for Maria Valeria bridge from nov - feb.
How fantastic. Started planning a tailored guards uniform with peaked cap and bridge logo. Can't wait to spend four months in a small town, during winter, with nothing else to do but report on the bridge, work with kids, meet people, connect with local communities and write. Bliss.
And will even get a snowy xmas - apparently the skiing in slovakia is amazing. could be time to learn!

Had a great conversation with the always inspiring Joyce Hinterding. She will be there tomorrow night playing the magnetic fields in the space with her antennae. Talked me through some performance anxiety - it's alright to be a beginner, you have to start somewhere. It is only my fourth performance ever. And the first not in scandinavia. what's with that?
She was there when I first had the bridge idea, and encouraged me to go for it, not worry about what the sounds were like, there's no good or bad, right or wrong - the very fact of there being sounds, listening to and collecting them is what's interesting. She reckons remixing the bridges is the way to go live - otherwise people get caught up in cause and effect - my alternate plan to play a full scale bridge model with sensors and samples in the wires - lucky as its way beyond my ken. although surely can find a willing sculptor/engineer/soundartist to help me realise it.

Discovered arup engineering sound lab today - listen to your building as it's being designed. Going to contact them and find out if you can listen to your bridge as well :)