Over 5 hours, emerging out of dawn on the centenary of Armistice Day, Aftermath creates a slowly shifting sonic landscape which offers a space for reflection on the true nature of war, loss and conflict.

Taking place at the striking MPavilion, along the approach to the Shrine of Rememberance, Aftermath will employ an orchestra of ‘remembering machines’: old turntables, Revox reel-to-reel players, and tape players which will sound and fragment archival recordings and texts, alongside live performance by co-curators Peter Knight (trumpet) Aviva Endean (clarinets) and collaborators Tilman Robinson (electronics) and Georgie Darvidis (voice).

On the centenary of Armistice Day, we reflect not only on the aftermath of the First World War but also on the cost and consequences of all conflicts. While war has massive political, geographical and social consequences, it also alters the lives of almost everyone it touches, from those who served to loved ones left behind, its ripples can continue to affect people for generations. Aftermath creates a space to contemplate the true nature of war, loss, and conflict, and the nature of collective memory.

The audience is invited to contribute to the event by folding white paper poppies as a symbol of peace and remembrance, and to pen their words in the petals of the poppies as an offering to the evolving soundscape.

Aftermath will conclude with the traditional Armistice Day minute’s silence at 11am followed by a smoking ceremony led by representatives of the Boon Wurrung Foundation.

The audience is welcome to remain for as long or as short time as they wish, and to come and go as they please.

Acknowledgements

Aftermath is created in collaboration with Monash University Museum of Art’s performance program Sound Spaces, along with Monash University Faculty of Arts, which commissioned the text from which this work has taken inspiration - World War One: A History in 100 Stories by Bruce Scates, Rebecca Wheatley, and Laura James.

This work draws from some of the research and materials developed in the making of performance work ‘Endings' by Tamara Saulwick, Peter Knight and collaborators.

The development and presentation of Aftermath was supported by the Anzac Centenary Arts and Culture Fund, the Australia Council for the Arts, Creative Victoria, City of Melbourne and Monash University Museum of Art | MUMA.

We acknowledge the Yaluk-ut Weelam as the traditional custodians of the land on which this event will take place and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded. The Yaluk-ut Weelam are part of the Boon Wurrung, one of the five major language groups of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to Elders, past, present and future and we wish to express gratitude for their continuous culture present in this region.

PERFORMANCES

MPavillion

11 November, 2018, 6.04am to 11.11am

CREATIVE TEAM

Co-curated by:

Aviva Endean - clarinets/turntables

Peter Knight - trumpet/tape loops/turntables

Together with:

Tilman Robinson - electronics/turntables

Georgie Darvidis - voice/turntables

Jem Savage - System design/production

Members of the Boon Wurrung Foundation
- smoking ceremony