UNSPOKEN was created for the WAYS OF LISTENING project -

https://citiesandmemory.com/listening/

A partnership between Cities and Memory and The Evelyn Glennie Foundation the project was created to raise awareness of the critical importance of listening in all its forms, and the benefits that better listening can bring to us all.

UNSPOKEN explores the idea that listening is about much more than just hearing spoken words. To me, listening means paying attention to what remains unspoken - the emotions, struggles, and stories that are difficult to express out loud. I wanted to highlight the hidden inner battles that many of us face at different times in our lives.

The idea came to me unexpectedly, and within two days I had written the poem. Drawing on my experience teaching and creating music with able-bodied and disabled people, individuals with special needs and members of the deaf community, it was important that the work be accessible to everyone.

To achieve this, I created a video in which the poem appears on screen alongside abstract visuals. These visuals were developed from footage I captured of flickering early evening light. The imagery is paired with an original music track, featuring my voice - singing over sustained string and vocal textures, reflecting and enhancing the emotional tone of the words.

UNSPOKEN is an invitation to listen with empathy and awareness - to notice the subtle signals that reveal the emotions and hidden struggles within us all.