For a new commission by Swiss artist Nicolas Party (b. 1980, Lausanne, lives and works in Brussels and New York), the Piper Gallery is taken over by a theatrical cast of female heads representing and acknowledging the achievements of pioneering women in the city of Oxford.
The work is in response to what the artist considers to be the heavily masculine energy of Oxford’s architecture and academic histories.
Considering his exhibition as a public forum, the artist celebrates working collaboratively and embraces the collective spirit of the theatre. Speakers incorporates a soundscape of piano, cello and voice arrangements, offering up improvised auditory encounters for visitors.
Throughout the exhibition there is a series of public events taking place within the gallery recognising and celebrating the wide-ranging history of women’s contributions to academic life and social and research communities.
From Tuesday 30 January to Sunday 4 February a new immersive soundscape will be played in the gallery created by EMPRES, Oxford University Music Faculty’s electronic music collective. It features recordings of female voices from across the city, woven with fragments of sound and musical textures, including Mary Beard, Susan Wollenberg, the Hurst St Press and Jackdaws FC.