BoomShack

Ordinary objects fixed to the ancient stone walls of an Old City alley, played together by passers-by through electronic drumsticks.

BoomShack, 2017. Commissioned by the Sounds of the Old City Festival, Jerusalem, 2017.

I — The workConcept

BoomShack is a social percussion instrument. Using a shared set of controls, the audience triggers electronic drumsticks that strike everyday objects fixed along the stone walls of an Old City alley. Strangers improvise together, discover the resonance of the mundane, and find their way into group harmony.

II — DocumentationPlates

BoomShack — documentation, plate 1 — Plate 01

BoomShack — documentation, plate 2 — Plate 02

BoomShack — documentation, plate 3 — Plate 03

BoomShack — documentation, plate 4 — Plate 04

III — The storyMaking & meaning

Made for a festival dedicated to the sound of Jerusalem's Old City, BoomShack asked what the city sounds like when its domestic objects are allowed to speak. The work needs several people at once to be interesting, and so it quietly teaches the first rule of any ensemble: listen before you play.

I — The workConcept

II — DocumentationPlates

III — The storyMaking & meaning

IV — Moving imageFilms (1)