Raw Materials

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A film by Justin Bennett

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The protagonist of Raw Materials, a video without images, composed exclusively of sound and text, types a letter while listening to sounds from his archive. He plays a memory game with himself as well as the audience, implicating us: “Do you remember? You were there too.” He analyses the possible interpretations of these sound recordings. Can they replace memories or photographs of places? Can they convey time, temperature, weather or emotions? How much do we project our own memories onto these sounds and how much do the words colour our judgement? Can we listen to a sound archive as a personal diary, as fiction, as music, or as legal evidence? Is the maker a listener, an actor or an author? Why did he record these sounds in the first place? And which tapes did he erase, and why?

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Watch the film here

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Video, 23 min, black & white, sound, 2011

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Supported by the Mondriaan Fund
Distribution: ARGOS, Centre for Art and Media, Brussels (BE), Jubilee (BE)

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Presentations to date:

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Jubilee at Dazibao, Video Programme at Dazibao, Montreal (2019)

Sonorities, Festival of Contemporary Music, Belfast (2013)