To Shout

Nelmarie du Preez
Pretoria

Nelmarie du Preez (b. 1985) is a Pretoria-based artist working in the fields of performance, photography, video and computational arts. She recently completed her MFA Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she also completed her MA in Computational Arts in 2013.

She also holds a BA in Audiovisual Multimedia from the University of South Africa. Du Preez is currently a lecturer in Visual Arts at UNISA.

Du Preez/GUI* as a ‘collective’ presents a computer and Nelmarie du Preez as equal actors in a performance-based artistic collaboration.

*GUI is the abbreviation for Graphical User Interfacecommonly found on any electronic device. In the documented performance entitled to shout (2013), these two performers re-interpret the work of Marina Abramovic and Ulay entitled AAA-AAA (1978).

 

Du Preez pre-recorded herself screaming the word ‘aaa’ at different intensities, but here she is dressed as her male-other GUI (representing Ulay’s role). These recordings are filtered through algorithms, which listen for intensity of sound-input volume. The ‘live’ shouting is firstly sent through a filter which records and shifts the pitch of her voice to a lower register in order to create a ‘male’ sounding voice. This audio is sent to the visualisation of GUI on screen and, through a set of instructions within the program, the forward and backward movement of GUI’s face is controlled in relation to the volume of the recorded screaming.

Therefore GUI’s voice and movements are directly dependent on the volume of du Preez’s ‘live’ shouting. When the shouting reaches a certain threshold the representation of GUI on screen begins to show digital ‘glitches’ while GUI’s voice is also distorted. This creates a continuous feedback loop by means of interaction between du Preez and GUI who aim to generate new meaning with regards to social constructions of the self and the other, and create spaces for ‘bodies’ to meet/collide.