On Thursday September 15, I took a trip to Oakville Galleries where I had the opportunity to experience Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Audio walk - A Large Slow River. It was a cool windy day, but the sun was shining, a fitting climate for the context of the walk. Much of the audio walk deals with the natural elements, especially water. The Oakville Galleries provides the perfect location to create the experience as it sits along Lake Ontario. There are mentions of a pond, river and lake which you explore first-hand in the walk. The walk begins in the gallery, as you listen to the soundtrack you are immediately greeted and told to follow the woman speaking. You are lead through the gardens as you follow her walking, and pausing to talk to you. The sounds aside from the primary voice have an entrapping quality. You find yourself under the control of the voice(s), as if you are with this person and she is only speaking to you. From the footsteps, to children speaking in the background- you begin to think there are people around you making these sounds. (I found myself taking of the headset to sort the noises from the audio from the outside elements.) The piece has quite a personal quality to it. Memories of family, friends and strangers are shared and sparked from so many varying sights and sounds. There is story within everything from the rose garden to wood chips.
I would suggest experiencing the walk with the audio and without to compare your experience in the space.
The following link provides background information of piece according to Janet Cardiff.
http://www.cardiffmiller.com/artworks/walks/largeslow_river.html
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