Being inspired by Jonathan Borofsky and his collaborator Gary Glassman and their documentary Prisoners where the prisoners share with them conversations, poems and art works of what life is like being locked up in a cement box. This described the oppressiveness of life, which is similar to some of the conversations I have had, as the private identity, which comes through, is one of suppressed emotions from relationships with others. The prisoners also never get to talk spontaneously about themselves and within my work I have the freedom to go in any tangened with these fragmented conversations. Glassman felt that the knowledge that one is being heard creates a sense of empowerment.

In finding the other within this work I think it is very important to bear in mind  “ The model of the artists as a lone genius struggling against society does not allow us to focus on the beneficial and healing role of social interaction, nor does it lead itself to what philosopher David Michael Levin calls “ enlightened listening,” a listening that is oriented toward the achievement of shared understandings. As Levin writes in the Listening Self, “We need to think about ‘practices of the self’ that understand the essential intertwining of self and other, self and society, that are aware of the subtle complexities of this intertwining.” (Lacy, S.1995, p80) 

The performative aspect within my work has been influenced from that of audio talks by Janet Cardiff, and the Central Park piece, Sofie Calle and the Museum guide to that of artists Helio Oiticica and his issues concerning the relationship between artist and spectator. By making contact with Jennie Savage whom works with communities in producing audio pieces the latest being Star radio which was a collection of conversations which were broadcasted onto this local radio station once they had been put together from all local people. Some explored the relationships between mother and daughters along to just everyday tasks and things which people do within the area.

In contrast to many of these artist I do not work on a linear way and actually have more source material and keep generating this to become the work instead of pick one thing and making that become the art with in its self.

James Joyce has been a continual reference point to take of free association writing, which helped my work to develop and move forward, as the pivoted point I tend to come back to this for guidenance at times when producing my work. Along with William Blake and his poetry Which is helped my free association writing to be come more structured in its appearance and flow, this has then been the guide in which I follow when making the sound pieces flow in my performative voice.

The influence of Bruce Nauman – Raw Materials which was shown in the turbine hall Tate modern, made me aware of how an audience can experience the essence of something when it is fragmented and only in sections showing similarities to way in which the audience experience it through a sensor triggering each piece off.
John Cage’s 4 minutes and 33 seconds sound piece demonstrated to me that you don’t need to make the sound yourself, it can just be the environment in which you are in which says it all, which excaually what he did. As a composer he opens up the question of chance to me, with my own sound pieces being a fragment of my everyday reflections of conversations and relationships, by chance they became my orchestra of creative sound.

The other side in which my influence lye are within philosophical debates and psychoanalysts, from Freud to lacan they seem a linear stream through out my practice incorporating their references to child development and attachment and separateness through out my practice. This is also present in the writings by feminist philosopher Lucie Irigaray, which when reading her book elemental passions I found refreshing to see such a connection to my understanding within my own language is present in that of her, with this tongue twisting free associate tongue in which she uses to enter into relationships through this type of dialogue with the viewer.