In London in 2015, Van Oldenborgh presented the project From Left to Night︎. The memory of the so-called London riots still lingered in the city and to such an extent that conversations in the film continually returned to the event. After the exhibition ended, the artist began to recompile and re-edit parts of the soundtrack, which includes dialogue and songs by Dean Burke (aka Owls) and Reveal (Mehrak Golestan’s stage name), with the idea of producing an LP—the actual vinyl was never released. From Left to Night LP goes back to that impetus to produce a sound version of the film (without images) with the structure of a music album. It begins with the voice of Burke:

They filmed me

they filmed me

they filmed me

they filmed me

and then I was seen.

They made up a story from all the fragments,

and then I was charged.

Seen as charged.

Now you film me
you film me

you film me

and then you’ll make up your story.

And then I’ll be what?

Visible?

This blind version of From Left to Night amplifies the project’s coherency. By doing away with the images, it liberates the ‘film’ from the power normally exercised by those who record and edit. In freeing the voices from the visibility of the bodies which profess them, they are less susceptible to being captured for a story fabricated a posteriori.

(Anna Manubens for the catalogue of tono lengua boca, CA2M, Madrid, 2019) *




Installation view of to llengua boca at Fabra i Coats, Barcelona, 2020.
Photographs by Eva Carasol