Arika  Archive Menu
Accessibility Settings

text size

colour options

monochrome muted color dark

reading tools

isolation ruler
in a dark arched room an audience watches a screen showing nylon being melted

Self Cancellation – Acid/Nylon

Self Cancellation – Acid/Nylon

A recreation of one of Gustav Metzger’s celebrated auto destructive performances in which nylon stretched across glass slides is projected whilst being treated with acid and the consequent changes in luminosity are picked up by contact microphones and amplified.

Can sound auto-destruct, can it cancel itself out in the process of it’s own creation? Society tends to cancel itself out: every new invention creates a new accident waiting to happen (e.g. before trains, derailment never existed). Gustav Metzger was the first artist in the UK to really address this tendency via his Manifestos for Auto-Destructive Art in the late 50’s & early 60’s. We asked Rhodri Davies, inspired by and in collaboration with Gustav, to bring together a collection of musicians to look at ways in which music/sound can cancel itself out, can auto-destruct during performance.

Read

Society tends to cancel itself out: every new invention creates a new accident waiting to happen (e.g. before trains, derailment never existed). Gustav Metzger was the first artist in the UK to really address this tendency via his Manifestos for Auto-Destructive Art in the late 50’s & early 60’s. We’ve asked Rhodri Davies, inspired by and in collaboration with Gustav, to bring together a collection of musicians to look at ways in which music and sound can cancel itself out, can auto-destruct during performance.

Maybe you think that sounds kinds dry, or theoretical, but it’s both real pertinent in today’s political climate and also a way of thinking about sound that could lead to some pretty spectacular performances. E.g: Mark & John Bain using oscillators to shake The Arches, seismographs to pick up the harmonics and a massive sub-bass PA to play that back to live, Michael Colligan pressing white hot metal into dry ice, causing the metal to sing and scream, Robin Hayward’s sand filled tuba solo.

Article by Rhodri Davies about the project.

The Self Cancellation project is co-produced with the London Musicians’ Collective.

Documentation

9 images, 1 audio
Audio Recording
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
A large screen shows dissolving nylon before a large seated crowd

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

Two figures in chemical suits and masks perform a task

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

A large screen shows dissolving nylon before a large seated crowd

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

Two figures in safety suits and masks handling chemicals

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

A large screen shows a blob of dissolving nylon before a large seated crowd

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

in a dark arched room an audience watches a screen showing nylon being melted

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

Two figures in chemical suits and masks holding a container of acid

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

A large screen shows a blob of dissolving nylon before a large seated crowd

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

Close up of dissolving nylon, brown and woven, fabric-like

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

A large screen shows dissolving nylon before a large seated crowd

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

Two figures in chemical suits and masks perform a task

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

A large screen shows dissolving nylon before a large seated crowd

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

Two figures in safety suits and masks handling chemicals

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

A large screen shows a blob of dissolving nylon before a large seated crowd

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

in a dark arched room an audience watches a screen showing nylon being melted

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

Two figures in chemical suits and masks holding a container of acid

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

A large screen shows a blob of dissolving nylon before a large seated crowd

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

Close up of dissolving nylon, brown and woven, fabric-like

▴ Credit: Bryony McIntyre

?
This site uses cookies for analytics. See our Privacy Policy for more. OK Opt out
×