Advertisement
Doors open at 14:30, $10 cash only on the door, numbers are limited.Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū and Sutton Heritage House and Garden Charitable Trust are excited to welcome legendary Aotearoa musician and artist Michael Morley to Sutton House for a rare performance.
Michael Morley’s The Never Quartet consists of four acoustic guitars laid out in pairs atop heavy wooden tables. The strings, activated by electronic bows, establish four continuous chords that, together, make up an all-enveloping drone. Far from remaining neutral supports, the tables amplify and alter the sound, filling the space to create an environmental installation. Morley modifies the chords by placing small wooden blocks, stacks of coins, and/or other items atop the guitars’ sounding bodies, occasionally adding, subtracting, or rearranging them throughout the performance.
Devoid of a standard quartet’s four performers, Morley’s “never” ensemble approaches the condition of sculpture, albeit an interactive one, as audiences are encouraged to record and play back the sound on their mobile devices.
Text by Branden W. Joseph.
Advertisement
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Sutton House, 20 Templar Street, Christchurch, New Zealand
