12 July to 22 August
Exhibition Launch: 3–7pm, 10 July

Sound artist and DJ Ain Bailey presents a series of new works for Version, the first onsite exhibition at Wysing Arts Centre of 2021.

The exhibition launch on 10 July is open to all, but due to Covid-19 the event is ticketed and booking is essential. Book a ticket on Eventbrite here, including options for transport from London and Cambridge.

To book a slot to visit the exhibition from Monday 12 July, visit our Eventbrite page here.
Ain Bailey: Version

Sound artist and DJ Ain Bailey presents a series of new works for Version, the first onsite exhibition at Wysing Arts Centre of 2021. Installed in three parts across Wysing’s site, the title pays tribute to the ‘version’ of a vocal track. Throughout the exhibition, Bailey brings together sound and sculpture as means to expand on ideas and techniques of ‘sonic biography’, a generative methodology of sound exploration that the artist has finessed over the years. Presented with the opportunity to occupy several spaces across the site, Bailey has produced a series of works that reflect on the artist’s Jamaican heritage, albeit from the position of someone who has not yet visited the island.

A rendition of “Linstead Market”, a traditional Jamaican folk song, sung by artist and composer Elaine Mitchener plays intermittently throughout reception upon arriving, a nod to songs held in memory and childhood. Moving through to the main gallery, an installation, including a sound composition capturing the cooking of a traditional Jamaican dish, ackee and saltfish, is accompanied by sculptures, exploring the interconnected roles of sound and food in forming biography. For the third and final part of the exhibition, Bailey has transformed Folke
Kobberling and Martin Kaltwasser’s
Amphis sculpture in the Wysing grounds into an homage to dub, the music genre which originated on the island.

The three sound pieces will be accompanied by a translation, written by artist and writer Taylor Le Melle. Presented alongside the sound works as a textual ‘version’ of the compositions, these act as an experiment in sound translation, whereby sonic components are shared in alternative ways. This element is developed in partnership with exhibition curator Hannah Wallis, as part of an exploration of how sound works can be made more accessible for D/deaf audiences.