Raw Materials
By Justin Bennett at GEMAK in The Hague
As part of the exhibition Gladstone ‘On books and the housing of them’
28.03.2014 – 10.05.2014
Location: Paviljoensgracht 20-24, 2512 BP The Hague, the Netherlands

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Justin Bennett will show his work Raw Materials (2011) in the exhibition Gladstone ‘On books and the housing of them’, a project about ‘reading domains’ past and present. The presentation takes place at the Vrije Academie’s exhibition space, GEMAK in The Hague.

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The project is inspired by William Ewart Gladstone (1809 – 1898), one of the most famous British prime ministers as well as a literary glutton and collector of books, who wrote an essay regarding reading domains entitled ‘On books and the housing of them’ (1898).

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In Raw Materials Justin Bennett asks what it is possible to hear within field recordings. The protagonist types a letter while listening to sounds from his archive. He writes of the ability of sound to trigger memories, to conjour up events, places and emotions. He is playing a game with himself and the audience, implicating us: “Do you remember? You were there too.”

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