Bailey, Ain
Ain Bailey’s practice includes an exploration of sonic autobiographies, primarily through workshops that activate memories not just for the single participant, but also for the temporary congregation. Her poetic compositions take a variety of forms, including multichannel and mixed media installations, moving image, live performances and dance.
And We’ll Always Be A Disco In the Glow of Love, 2019, aims to sonify loss and grief as a starting point. It asks how we might create a collective dialogue around the personal experience of dealing with death and mourning. Deeply personal, the work was developed through conversations with eight of the artist’s close friends, who have each experienced a bereavement. The artist’s contribution links these together to unite nine distinct parts, which centre on the sounds of that experience – audio memories, songs, or emotions. The number nine is significant, as it draws on the Caribbean funerary tradition of Nine-Nights, in which a wake takes place over several days. Bailey produces a collective composition, which interrogates how we think about death sonically.
- Artwork Details: running time: 30 minutes travel frame dimensions: 70.2 x 166.2 x 19.8cm
- Edition:
- Material description: Sound, treated copper panel with paper, silk, felt, roses, sequins, beads and gold thread
- Credit line: © the artist. Image courtesy of the artist. Photo: Mark Blower
- Theme:
- Medium: Installation
- Accession number: ACC23/2021