A New Sound Installation for Portchester Castle
8th July marks the opening at Portchester Castle of | Les Murs Sont Témoins | These Walls Bear Witness |, a new sound installation by Elaine Mitchener commissioned by the University of Warwick in partnership with English Heritage.
The work echoes and dramatises the castle’s history as a building of incarceration, creativity and freedom. During the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, the castle held thousands of French prisoners of war, many from the Caribbean. The installation tells the story of how these black Caribbean revolutionaries interacted with their fellow prisoners from mainland France.
The soundscape created by Mitchener mixes new readings of excerpts from registers, letters and plays written and performed by the prisoners. From July until the end of November, visitors to the castle keep will encounter this complex of voices and sounds that reveal the lives and experiences of these remarkable soldiers and their families.
Opening times and tickets:
www.english-heritage.org.uk
Further information:
| Les Murs Sont Témoins | These Walls Bear Witness |