LOL
Middlesbrough Art Weekender 2022
Location
Date & time
LOL was broadcast at specific times over four days, between 22-25 September, 2022.
LOL is a site-specific sonic intervention delivered through the public address system of Middlesbrough’s CCTV surveillance network that reflects on the current state of political affairs in Britain. On dedicated sites in the centre of town, passers-by heard
political slogans and news headlines read by the AI voice ‘Kate’.
The three-part collage was composed by Olivia Louvel and produced in collaboration with Kersten Glandien.
It was commissioned by The Auxiliary in 2022.
With special thanks to the City Council of Middlesbrough for making this possible, their surveillance team for the support they provided and The Auxiliary’s directors, Anna Byrne, Kyp Kyprianou and Liam Slevin for inviting Sound Art Brighton to develop the project. Additional thanks to the Swiss artist Stefano Christen for letting us use an extract from his field recording ‘Climate Justice’.
Olivia Louvel was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Best Sound Art for this composition, at The Ivors Classical Awards, 2023.
The Ivors Academy jury called it: “A provocative, disruptive and impactful work, deftly constructed with humour”.
