LASA (Laboratorio Artistico de San Agustin) invited me to contribute to their project for the 10th Havana Biennale, dealing with 'sound' in the public space of this area existing of 1950's residential concrete apartment blocks, west from Havana. LASA is interested in the possible role of art in the public space and invites international artists to develop projects in which residents will be involved. Seeing a Google-Earth picture of the area I got interested in the printed street numbers. I decided to ask the residents for names they would give to the streets in case there would not be the numbering system, which names I would make audible by voices in the streets where they were collected. The idea was on one hand a light footed way of getting in contact with the people in the area, at the same time it was a possibility to deal with the entire space of the area. It also made a connection with the oral tradition of shouting information between one another via the air, due to the lack of telephones and doorbells. During 8 daily walks with volunteer LASA assistants I collected some 800 alternative street names. During the same days the collected names were vocalised aloud - amplified by simple carton funnels - by myself and volunteer assistants walking along different routes through the streets, sometimes crossing each others paths. Each performer carried a street plan and a list of names that were given for each of those streets. Each day the file of names increased and during each walk people came up with more names.
year
2009
location
San Agustin, Havana, Cuba
brief description
Street names given by residents of San Agustin, Havana, are vocalized aloud in the streets where they were collected.
performed by
Toine Horvers and voluntary participants of LASA project
curator
Candelario and Aurelie Sampeur
project or event
LASA Havana Biennale
San Agustín, plan with daily tours
Nombres de calles sound 1
Alexis returning from his tour
Nombres de Calles sound 2
Ana returning from het tour
Nombres de calles, sound 3
Toine, Marisol and Moises departing in different directions