The Lesbian Families Sound Archive
Imagining a journey through a possible archive of the sonic memory of lesbian families
Both my older sister and I were raised by lesbian parents before same-sex adoption even became legal in this country. We grew up in a world which was not created for us, where families were never depicted or described as ours was, where every form and certificate filled in had to be changed to acknowledge the very existence my parents. The piece offers a new perspective on sound as memory, identity and recollection. The project consists of entering different familial spaces through the social networks formed when I was a child and creating sound-collage objects which offer a glimpse of each family鈥檚 sonic identity. Sara Ahmed writes that 鈥渇ollowing a line is not disinterested: to follow a line takes time, energy, and resources, which means that the 鈥樷�榣ine鈥欌�� one takes does not stay apart from the line of one鈥檚 life, as the very shape of how one moves through time and space.鈥� In creating the 鈥楲esbian Families Sound Archive鈥�, I aim to reclaim this sonic space as a significant and vital part of (re)creating identity, and consider in depth how mine and other lesbian families close to us use sound to articulate their specific familial situation.
New Creatives is supported by Arts Council England and 大象传媒 Arts.
Artist 鈥� Ruari Paterson-Achenbach
Interviewees and mothers 鈥� Vicki Paterson, Gerlinde Achenbach, Gill Davies and Janet Pearce
Producers 鈥� Rory Bowens, Lizzy King and Josh Farmer (NTS)
