Vibin n Marblin (composer Jackie Walduck and visual artist Chloe Cooper) are a collaborative duo using audio-visual improvisation to create immersive video projections and mesmeric vibraphone soundscapes to spark fresh associations between the senses.
Chloe Cooper is a visual artist specialising in paper marbling, publishing and socially engaged practice. Jackie Walduck is a vibraphonist and composer whose work explores the intersections between performance, composition and electronic music.
During the Covid-19 pandemic Chloe and Jackie developed a remote dialogical practice over Zoom where Chloe drops paints onto the surface of her marbling tray and Jackie plays sounds on her vibraphone and electronics.
Chloe and Jackie watch and listen, adapting their shapes and sounds in response to one another. Jackie then uses her looper to manipulate and repeat the sounds and in response, Chloe pulls tools through the paint to make patterns that spin and disintegrate.
In May 2020, Vibin n Marblin were awarded funding from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to co-produce marbled prints and musical compositions with young people experiencing mental ill health at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. The resulting prints and music were published online and exhibited at the hospital from March to August 2021.
In 2022, they received funding from Research England and the University of Kent to work with adults living will mental ill-health in Medway alongside Dr Ruth Herbert. Vibin n Marblin have exhibited and performed at The Moorings Sociable Club, London (2023); Lakeside Centre, London (2022); The Hot Tin, Faversham (2022); Electric Medway at Sun Pier House, Chatham and Online (2021); Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London (2021); Rapture Gaming Festival, Medway (2021); Southwark Park Galleries, London (2021); Southwark Park Galleries, London (2020); Cafe Oto, London (2019).
Presentation: The practice of audiovisual improvisation as a method to inspire the emotions connected with present-centred consciousness
Our workshop aims to engage participants with the practice of audiovisual improvisation as a method to inspire the emotions connected with present-centred consciousness. It will begin with a demonstration of our dialogical practice. Visual artist Chloe Cooper creates immersive patterns using a projected feed of her live Japanese water marbling (suminagashi). Composer Jackie Walduck creates mesmeric music using her vibraphone and looper. Chloe’s marbling responds to Jackie’s music and vice versa, resulting in immersive video projections and mesmeric vibraphone soundscapes.
The participants will experiment with suminagashi, learning about its origins in Japan, the equipment used, how to make different patterns and how to make a print. They will then use their brushes and ink to make specific forms relating to specific musical features such as loops, rhythm, spreading and distorting, responding to a live musical accompaniment by Jackie Walduck.
The session will finish with a group discussion on the emotions inspired by watching and taking part in audiovisual improvisation. We will weave in our experiences of using this method in mental health settings including Lavender Walk Adolescent Mental Health at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and North Kent Mind into this discussion.