Olivia Louvel: The Sculptor Speaks
Exhibition
The Sculptor Speaks is a looped audio-visual work by artist and composer Olivia Louvel, based on an archival tape holding a 1961 talk by Barbara Hepworth, pre-recorded herself for use by the British Council.
After finding an archival recording of Barbara Hepworth in the British Library, Olivia Louvel designed a new soundscape for it, manipulating Hepworth’s voice, repeating phrases and playing with its rhythm.
Louvel thinks of the sound work as a direct carving into the original material to produce an abstract form.
The sound is accompanied by contemporary footage of St Ives, referencing Hepworth’s relationship to the Cornish landscape.
About the artist
Olivia Louvel is a French-born British composer and artist whose work draws on voice, computer music and digital narrative. Her work is presented in the form of sound recordings, live performance, sound art installations and video art.
Credits
Audio and visual production: Olivia Louvel.
Additional visual aftereffects: Antoine Kendall.
Thank you to Sophie Bowness, trustee of the Hepworth Estate
