Roslyn Oades

CLOSE OF DAY (IN DEVELOPMENT)

An immersive site-responsive audio installation experience for closing time in a public library

“At ten o’clock the great gong sounds it’s dread

Prelude to splendour. I push back my chair,

Still acquiescent, down the marble stair

Into the dark where we can’t read. And thought

Swoops down insatiate through the starry air."

- Closing Time: Public Library by Australian poet Lesbia Harford (1891-1927)

The general public seek out library reading rooms as a sanctuary in the heart of the city; an anonymous spot to study, read, rest, think and drift. Specifically, they come to travel through portals - laptops and phones, books and notepads. There are worlds within worlds here. All the guests are somewhere else, which makes closing time a profound threshold. A synchronised moment where the entire room is simultaneously drawn back through their portals. A nightly ritual, where they each awake from a private spell, gather up their belongings and head out into the night together.

Closing time in most public libraries is announced by an offical-sounding voice, over an offical-sounding PA system. However, historically, library officials once used more theatrical techniques, such as dipping the lights or walking the room’s perimeter striking a gong, to wake readers from their revelry. For Close of Day we propose creating a bespoke and enchanting end-of-day ritual with and for the library community. An immersive audio-portrait for this beloved public space, inspired by earlier end-of-day sound and light traditions. A poetic closing ritual befitting the reading room’s unique character, history and wealth of knowledge - as well as the rich imaginations and stories of its current day users. Employing a multi-artform approach, documentary theatermaker Roslyn Oades and internationally-acclaimed sound artist Bob Scott will incorporate community-sourced whispered readings, archival audio, surround-sound composition and site-responsive lighting design to create a delightfully haunting immersive experience to accompany the library user’s journey back into the present and out into the world again. The site-responsive score will utilise a bell-like structure: seeping in gently, building to crescendo, and trickling out into the night. The work is envisioned as a free public experience of approximately 10minutes. It is designed to occur daily, 15minutes prior to the library closing. Once infrastructure is in place, there is potential to refresh the work, with new immersive sound commissions, as an ongoing public artwork.

We are currently seeking a premiere presentation partner for this work.

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Lead artist: Roslyn Oades
Sound artist: Bob Scott
Musicians: Ria Soemardjo, Rom Reeves & Katie Scott
Dramaturge: Jamie Lewis
Stills: Piers Carthew

PRoject ENQUIRIES

Please direct initial enquiries to Roslyn Oades>>

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Developed with the assistance of State Library of Victoria’s ALCHEMY artist residency program, 2021