Yuri Suzuki at Turner Contemporary
Turner Contemporary, in collaboration with Kent Libraries, has commissioned sound artist, designer and electronic musician Yuri Suzuki to make a new art work during this year's Turner Prize, as part of Margate Now festival.
‘The Welcome Chorus’ will bring together sound, sculpture and artificial intelligence (AI) in the new interactive outdoor installation. Twelve horns, each representing a district of Kent, will continually sing lyrics which are generated live by a uniquely trained, site-specific piece of AI software.
Through an inclusive democratic process, including workshops at Kent Libraries, people from all over the county have been contributing lyrics reflective of their Kentish experience to the AI data bank. Generated lyrics reflect on the history of Kent, changes to industry and services, the relationship between urban and rural areas and perceptions around journeying and migration. The colours of each horn range from ‘bubble gum pink’ ‘ASDA Green’, and have been chosen by library staff from different areas in Kent.
Onsite, visitors will be able to speak or sing into a unique ‘conductor’ sculpture, their words will then be heard in the immediate soundscape and will be added to the ongoing machine learning. The AI will continue to evolve throughout the course of the exhibition, resulting in novel and unexpected vocal exchanges.
