THE SYMPHONY OF NAMES : NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

The Symphony of Names: No Man is an Island, video installation 4-channel HD video composite with 10-channel audio installation with speakers, speaker wire and acrylic islands, TRT 13 minutes, 2017-2018

The Symphony of Names : No Man Is An Island is a video/sound installation by Elizabeth Withstandley. The piece is a collaboration with the Icelandic composer Gunnar Karel Másson, created during a month long residency in 2017 at SÍM in Reykjavik, Iceland.

The installation explores individual identity in culture that is not tied to their name as a form of uniqueness. Throughout the world surnames play a large role in ones identity often seen as an identifier providing cultural and familial history. Icelandic surnames are not used in the same manner, making it a unique culture to explore identity and naming. The project uses a modern interpretation of “the symphony” using the human voice as the primary instrument speaking all the Icelandic names with an ambient soundtrack tying the whole experience together.

In the video, four different video channels are composited into one view showing a young boy on a journey through the unique countryside of Iceland. We follow the boy while he travels from one screen to the next while being surrounded by the sound of the symphony. The audio is a 10 channel track using all 4129 names from the government name list and presents them in a melodic yet slightly chaotic form featuring a variety of Icelandic people reciting the names.

This project was supported, in part, by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant