As part of the ‘Artists on Site’ strand of the BBC Public Art Programme, Brian Catling was invited to respond to the history and activity of Broadcasting House before it closed for refurbishment in 2003. His video, Presence, features a blind man’s investigation of objects from the Sound Effects Store selected for their sound usage in radio drama.
The video opens with images of the Broadcasting House Drama Studio and the sounds of someone walking in the studio’s gravel pit. Each object examined by the man generates a shard of a story using different expressions and forms of language. A block of wood mounted with dials and buttons becomes the console for a space ship, a suitcase of the actor in a drama of love and loss.
Presence is part of the BBC Broadcasting House Public Art Programme curated by Modus Operandi.
