Benoît Maubrey
«Audio Ballerinas»

Since the mid-1980s, Benoît Maubrey has increasingly worked with 'sounding bodies', 'speaking clothes', and in public spaces. The plexiglass tutus of the 'Audio Ballerinas' are equipped with solar cells (outdoors) or batteries (inside) and a complete, ambulant electronic sound system including microphone, recorder, amplifier, digital storage, and loudspeakers. Thus, the ballerinas can directly record, store, sample, and mix sounds from their environment. In contrast to the Walkman's principle of mobile auto-isolation, these interactive objects connect the performer to his immediate surroundings, so that in the ideal case a transparent interaction arises between site, audience, choreography, and sound.

Rudolf Frieling