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kensington cradle songs 2007

(2007) drawing, sound installation

Kensington Cradle Songs is a sound piece collaged from fragments of lullabies, and presented as a sound installation, at the Bridewell Studios Gallery, Liverpool.

People from diverse communities In Kensington, North Liverpool, were invited to a song-sharing and vocal improvisation workshop, to explore the cross-cultural qualities of lullabies – the lilting rhythms, the soft sibilant sounds, and the strange dream imagery of the words.

Recordings from the workshop were woven together into a multi-layered, womb-like sound piece, emphasizing the sense of the lullaby as a communal sonic cradle. Hand-drawn portraits of the singer-participants were hung on paper screens, and two rocking chairs placed in front of a lit fire acted as listening points.