SEARCH: PINK FINGERS FRAGILE ARCHIVES
FOR ENSEMBLE AND TWO VIDEOS
FLUTE, OBOE, CLARINET, VIOLIN, VIOLA, CELLO, PIANO, PERCUSSION
COMMISSIONED BY ENSEMBLE RECHERCHE
WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COPRODUCTION FUND OF THE GOETHE INSTITUT
PREMIERE ON MAY 4TH 2024 WITTENER TAGE FÜR NEUE KAMMERMUSIK (GE) WITH ENSEMBLE RECHERCHE
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SEARCH: PINK FINGERS FRAGILE ARCHIVES IS BRINGING TOGETHER TERMS SUCH AS VACUUM-CLEANER-SCANNER, PINK FINGERS, DIGITAL HOUSEKEEPING, DATA LOSS AND FRAGILITY TOGETHER. THE INTERNET ARCHIVE, THE LARGEST COLLECTION OF ARCHIVED WEB PAGES IN THE WORLD, REPRESENTS A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE FRAGILITY OF OUR DIGITAL PAST DUE TO PROCESSES SUCH AS DIGITAL HOUSEKEEPING, ERRORS OR SIMPLY: GLITCHES.
BUT IN FACT, ALL ARCHIVES ARE FRAGILE OR AS DERRIDA SAYS “UNSTABLE” (CIT. UNSTABLE REPOSITORY FOR TRACES OF THE PAST) OR NANNA BONDE THYLSTRUP “UNCERTAIN” (UNCERTAIN ARCHIVES, BOOK PUBLISHED IN 2021). WHEN WE SAY FRAGILE, UNSTABLE, OR UNCERTAIN WHAT WE MEAN IS THAT ALTHOUGH IT CLAIMS OF UNMEDIATED OBJECTIVITY, THE ARCHIVE IS INEVITABLY AN “ARCHIVE” (DERIVES FROM ARKHÉ, WHICH DENOTES “ORIGIN” BUT ALSO “AUTHORITY”) OR RATHER: A CONSTRUCTION OF ITS MAKERS.
THE FRAGILITY OF BOTH DIGITAL AND ANALOG ARCHIVES LAYS IN THE FACT THAT THEY ARE EXISTING IN-BETWEEN DUALISMS: THEY ARE FACTUAL YET FICTIVE; PUBLIC AND YET PRIVATE. SEARCH: PINK FINGERS FRAGILE ARCHIVES REPRESENTS THIS FRAGILITY ON A PHYSICAL LEVEL BY IMAGINING THE SOUND OF FANS COOLING HUNDREDS OF COMPUTER SERVERS KEEPING THE DIGITAL PAST ALIVE AND BY SCANNING THE THIN, BLACK TAPE COVERED WITH OXIDE PARTICLES HOLDING MY OWN CHILDHOOD.
