Cape Town Under: The Third Voice

-Cape Town, 3 October 2013-Cape Town's historical tunnels will briefly turn into a musical instrument in November (dates TBC) as an artist sings from an open manhole connecting to these underground spaces in guerilla gallery's second project. 

Pauline Theart, a Fine Artist from Johannesburg who uses her voice and song as medium, will perform an extended lullaby at selected tunnel interfaces. Cape Town Under: The Third Voice forms part of a larger exploration of land by Gordon Institute of Performing and Creative Arts (GIPCA).

Closed manhole on the Castle Lawn

Open manhole on Castle Lawn

Kim Gurney conceived Cape Town Under for guerilla gallery and curates the intervention with participant artists. She says: "We hope this feminine, lyrical song emanating from a stark built environment will intrigue and move people in the midst of their everyday interactions. It is a simple, affective gesture that cues past and present while speaking to restorative futures."

Cape Town's tunnels were first built as canals by the Dutch and more recently enclosed by the Victorians. Today, they act as stormwater pathways where fresh water flows invisibly under the city from the mountain out to sea. The performance sites include a manhole on the Castle lawn, a trapdoor facing Strand Street and a manhole on the Grand Parade.

The unique acoustics let the sound travel upwards to surprise people above ground through the emotional interiors of song. It also loops in the tunnels themselves to create echoes and refrains, in what Theart speaks of as a 'third voice' or 'the unforeseen voice'.

The manhole on the Grand parade where the performance will take place

The manhole adjacent the Grand parade where the lullaby will echo

The one-hour tunnel performances will take place daily at rotating sites - exact dates and schedule to be announced shortly. 

Ask the artist about this one..... 

LAND is an interdisciplinary project run by GIPCA at University of Cape Town to explore ideas around land and territory through a symposium, exhibitions, interventions and more. This guerilla gallery project is made possible with support from GIPCA.

For further details visit www.capetownunder.withtank.com and updates will be posted on this blog as we go. 

The trapdoor

The view inside the trapdoor where the artist will sing