“On Being Human as Praxis” was conceived by Elaine Mitchener. The vocal artist invited five different composers—Jason Yarde, Matana Roberts, Laure M. Hiendl, Tansy Davies, and George E. Lewis—to respond to the work of the Jamaican feminist and cultural theorist Sylvia Winter.
‘I approach dance with a musician’s sensibility,’ says vocalist, composer and movement artist Elaine Mitchener, whose work appears in ‘British Art Show 9’, a major group exhibition that takes the temperature of contemporary art every five years (touring nationally until 23 Dec 2022).
“Classically trained with a three-octave range, the genre-exploding performer dissolves her voice into astonishing gasps and stutters to confront the horror of colonial history.”
“Elaine Mitchener creates in order to challenge – others and herself. She’s not looking for the comfort zone. We talked about necessary questions and uncomfortable answers.”
20 Artists for 20 Years brings you exclusive insights into the extraordinary artists in Sound UK’s life.
On the way to a really new kind of music: The British singer and composer Elaine Mitchener
“I think we should be activists. We should work to change society.”
“With every performance I’m searching for a totality of expression, to fully unify and amplify the musical, physical, emotional, and political aspects of each work.”
