ponder hear

pond/er (h)ear

vicki hallett & berni m janssen

Performing structured improvisations blending poetic texts, vocalizations, treated clarinet, field recordings, found sounds/instruments

… each work responding to ‘a time and a place ‘  -  ‘each pond its own song’…

Two works with very different themes and development:

(p)each

(p)each, inspired by the popular Japanese folktale Momotaro, responds to, and is also inspired by the world-wide grassroots movements challenging and defying oppression and injustice. The story of a boy born from a peach, who gathers unlikely allies, to fight the oppressors offers an example of bravery against unmatched odds, of how when we work together we can do the seemingly impossible.

It is a tribute to all people who have lost so much, including their lives, in these struggles.

(p)each, had a long development. Vicki and berni began exploring the peach text in the months just before covid. Over the covid times, they developed the work online and whenever they could meet in person. Over those years people’s fight for an equitable world continued and continued to add layers to the original inspirations.

A version of (p)each has been presented as part of Radiophrenia 2025 programs in Glasgow, and London.

Available now: https://bernimjanssen.bandcamp.com/track/p-each

pond/er

A contemplation of the life and times of that quintessential rural feature, the dam. Could be a pond. Or a lake. A body of water filled with life, surrounded by life, fluctuating, changing. Season to season.

pond/er is a work in progress drawing on poetic text, field recordings, instruments and sounds from dams in Djaara country.

Saturday 15 November. 4pm.

Venue

JOLTED Arts Space

342 High Street Northcote