#VOICEOVER is an online extension to a themed survey published in Kaleidoscope‘s issue 20 (Winter 2013/14), dedicated to the deployment of off-camera commentary as a conceptual device in the moving image works of a new generation of artists, including Ed Atkins, Laure Prouvost, Pilvi Takala, Hito Steyerl, Helen Marten, Camille Henrot, Ian Cheng, Mark Leckey, and Oliver Laric. The following selection of featured videos, exceptionally made available for online viewing, explores how these artists resort to the disembodied voice to find expression beyond language, elevate sound from background element to a character in its own right, and tackle issues of neutrality, animism and miscomprehension. Referencing the films of Chris Marker and Jean-Luc Godard while also drawing from advertising and text-to-speech, these artists use voiceover to analyze the separation of mind over body, lending the works their alternating intimacy and alienation.
Enjoy the video program.