Aleksandr Eltsin

GRANTEE

Documenting Ukraine Grants

FACE: TO: FACE

The project that I want to implement reflects my personal experience and explores the experiences of others during wartime in Ukraine. Due to martial law a curfew has been established in Ukraine, which lasts from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. During this time, it is forbidden to be on the street and in public places, or move around the city without a special pass. For my new work I want to create a special interactive environment for people to spend the curfew time and investigate their reactions. 
The idea of my new work is based on my memories of the first days of the war, which I spent in the recording studio. I felt more comfortable there than in the apartment I used to rent at that time. During those days I barely shot any videos and photos, but I always had a recorder with me. I recorded radio news, my thoughts, sounds of the street during curfew and other moments of existence. There was also time to play acoustic musical instruments to calm down.
"FACE: TO: FACE" is an art-research project. The first phase is the audio archive collection. For several weeks I will invite different people to spend the curfew time in an equipped recording studio in Kyiv. I will invite the guests to stay alone for six hours from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. and interact with the equipment. During this time sound will be constantly recorded in the room. A person is invited to voice their inner state, thoughts, memories, etc. In addition, the studio has musical instruments, allowing the recording of anything that cannot be expressed in words. 
The second phase is the exhibition project at the Center for Urban History (Lviv). It will be a multi-channel audio installation consisting of an archive of recordings: each channel of this audio sculpture is a record of six hours of human life. Moving through the exhibition space, the listener is immersed in the total audio archive. The installation will be configured in such a way that the listener can simultaneously hear the din of all the narrators and their individual voices.

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