Running concurrently with The Ancient Presence

Viv Corringham is a British sound artist, vocalist and composer whose work usually involves walking, as a method of investigating people’s relationships with places and how that links to an interior landscape of memory and association. The experiences and materials gathered on these walks find their way into installations, headphone works and concert pieces.

These two works derive from audio and visual recordings made during recent artist residencies in Grand Marais, Minnesota (At the End of the Road) and the Bay Area, California (Always the Water), in which local people shared walks and places that are special to them with Corringham. The sounds were recorded on location and include conversations on the walks, environmental sounds, and vocal improvisations. The visuals mainly explore objects gathered on the journeys. This work is part of a long-term project, known as Shadow-walks, which explores one’s sense of place and relationship with places, especially very familiar ones.

Originally from England, Viv Corringham is currently based in Minnesota and has worked internationally since the 1980s. Articles about her work have appeared in Organised Sound (UK), Musicworks (Canada), and For Those Who Have Ears (Ireland). She has received many awards, including a McKnight Composer Fellowship for 2006 through the American Composers Forum. Her work has been commissioned by arts centers and sound festivals in Ireland, Portugal, Turkey, Australia, USA, England, Scotland and Italy.