Verity Standen Guest Blog: There You Go, Lovely
Image by Paul Blakemore
Throughout autumn of 2023, MAYK have been working on Confluence; an exciting new residency commissioned by Ginkgo Projects exploring Bristol’s changing city centre. Culminating in a weekend programme of film, photography, live performance and installation 1-3 December, Confluence has been the collaborative effort of four fantastic artists, one of whom is Verity Standen.
Verity Standen is an award-winning artist, composer and choir leader who works with trained and non-professional singers to create rich, beautiful soundscapes and performances. She likes to play with vocal music in ways that ask us to listen differently, gathering people together to sing, and exploring different ways that people can experience music.
Her projects take a range of forms – concerts, theatre pieces, films, installations, community events – but they always start with the voice. A lot of Standen’s work explores the relationship between music and intimacy, such as HUG (2015), Symphony (2016) and Undersong (2018).
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Standen spent time playing with the possibilities of intimate recorded voice. She created, with sound designer Yas Clarke, an installation built out of audio interviews with people across the country speaking about their voices, which is ‘performed’ by a room full of speakers in.
For the blog, we did a quick artist profile on Verity and spoke about her upcoming Confluence project, There You Go, Lovely.
Of course, Bristol is the over-arching inspiration for this project, but how did The Galleries influence your track?
We staged a show in an empty shop in The Galleries for Mayfest 2022. I was fascinated by the shopping centre: the people who worked there, the regulars who pop in every day, the people passing through. I always like to start my work by talking to people, and the Galleries felt like a really interesting place to have some conversations.
What memories do you have of the city that have influenced your creative perspective on this project?
Commuting I think... I don't drive so I've had years on my feet trudging through different areas of Bristol for work, seeing how the people and the buildings shift. It feels like small villages within the big city. There's always a new nook to uncover, or a street you've not wandered down before, or a new local creative venture that makes you stop and think about the city a bit differently.
What three words best describe your track?
Playful. Verbatim. Spreadsheet.
Can you remember the first time you were inspired by art or an artist in Bristol?
When I first came to Bristol, I took part in some Original Spinners workshops at Hamilton House. Clowns dancing together in a community-run space. I'd never been in a space like HH and I found it hugely inspiring and comforting as a place to be and create.
What is your favourite view in Bristol?
I used to run a choir that met in the Benjamin Perry Scout Hut (opposite Thekla). I love the view of winter lights along the water in both directions from there. Also in the summertime too...