5000 Calls - Cardiff
(Cardiff version) 8 channel audio, 32 speakers, programmed sound files, pvc banner
Installation on Millennium Riverwalk, Cardiff, October - November, 2002
5000 Calls was installed along the riverwalk outside the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Utilising existing architectural elements, 32 loudspeakers were mounted at intervals along the eight giant masts and 24 tensioned cables to provide a changing corridor of sound along the riverwalk.
In this installation, local calls were recorded and added to the piece. These include fragments of traditional Welsh song, the Welsh Commonwealth women's hockey team and children playing football in Pontcanna fields. Visitors to the riverwalk included many locals walking and riding to the city centre, with occasional major crowds for sporting events.
Acknowledgements
Commissioned by Chapter Arts Centre, with support from Cardiff Rugby and the Australia Council
Responses
'I was suddenly struck by the intimacy - and by the archetypal quality of the cries. By restricting themselves to preverbal utterances, they have, in effect, created a universal language. People can recognise and respond to these wordless exhalations. People also recognise the freshness of the piece's conceit.'
- Bleddyn Butcher, The Wire, London, July 2003
