Can You Hear Me?

The Hope Street Project represents that third phase of a series of installations working with the design and composition of string sculptures.

Phase One was presented at The Old Library in Cardiff in May 2003, in response to a commission by Cardiff 2008 and The British Council. New Young Europeans presented the public with a series of photographic images of young asylum seekers, and also written testaments by the young participants. Underscoring this was an aural tapestry made up of the voices of these young people asking the question “can you hear me?” in their mother tongue. This diffused into the exhibition space through a relay of small string structures. An open mike was also made available for visitors to record their own responses into the archive. The phrase holds a poignant irony that is particular to Cardiff. It is the phrase first spoken by Marconi. The first spark of telegraphic communication took place between Lavernock Point and Flatholm in the Bristol Channel.