PINGS springs directly from the geographical distance between two collaborators. Working directly from their locales they explore the physical space between them through rivers and air and a range of other terrains with their own qualities, such as the web, phone, post, and the less tangible links of memory and synchronicity. In January 2008 the artists began an exchange of performance and materials through these various channels as a means of mapping these terrains.Movement artist Simon Whitehead and Sound artist Barnaby Oliver have been working simultaneously from their local rivers in Abercych, west Wales and Melbourne, Australia. Although a few thousand miles apart they share the intention to meet at a particular time each week and approach their rivers as an unbroken body of water through which they correspond. Their instincts are improvisational and over time they have been building a body of performative material from these shared events. Linked by their shared intentions and the physical rivers this material (in video, sound and image) begins to create its own character responsive to season, the time of day, the level of water and the meandering presence of each artist. This unedited material is shared through the net and snail mail and the artists now invite you to subscribe to these events through podcast, email and post. See www.untitledstates.net/pings for more information. Barnaby Oliver and Simon Whitehead have been collaborating for over 12 years. Their online resource www.untitledstates.net elaborates on their work, past and present. PINGS is funded by an Artsadmin (London) Roaming Bursary.en-auhttp://www.untitledstates.net/pingshttp://www.untitledstates.net/pings/img/ping%201.1.JPGhttp://www.untitledstates.net/pingshttp://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=71minus 10Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:57:49 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=7030 December. 11am. Riverbank.Tue, 30 Dec 2008 15:28:09 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=69wet and chilly sat on bench. amp failing - battery? unaccountable melancholy.Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:41:37 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=68mist, full river, cows huddled around hay, drag guitar across hoar frost field to the riverSun, 14 Dec 2008 13:01:24 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=67Drawing birds in the rainWed, 10 Dec 2008 12:20:39 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=66HEavenly QueenMon, 08 Dec 2008 07:43:44 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=65dead fox and robin on road to river, i sit on the bank with microphones in my ears listening to river through small fender ampWed, 26 Nov 2008 11:45:02 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=64gusting wind, hard to get a recording of anything much. try sheltering microphones in mouth.Sun, 23 Nov 2008 02:51:32 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=63cow parsley stems and beech leaves, a trumpet for listening.....Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:46:12 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=62grey spring afternoon. only colour is in patches of nameless purple flowers.Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:22:57 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=61a goldfish bowl? no, a washing up bowlMon, 03 Nov 2008 20:42:59 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=60Ruben's pingSun, 19 Oct 2008 10:33:13 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=59unplugged guitar under a large oak, acorns droppingWed, 15 Oct 2008 19:25:07 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=58Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:57:27 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=57....Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:44:59 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=56WALTER GREGORY'S ETHELYNE FLUID FOR CATTLE Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:42:16 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=55no car today. strapped guitar to child seat of bike and rode along river bank. part 1 - high gain, on bike path. part 2 - low gain, on rough ground.Sun, 21 Sep 2008 04:36:49 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=54hawberries, blackberries, rowan berries, acorns, hazel nuts, crab apples and me falling on the road to the river pick them up, pick me up..Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:49:45 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=53early floods sometimes the water rises up around you and your country literally disappears beneath your feet. Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:12:25 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=52tethering leaves to the riverbed, eventually the stones are dislodged by the current and the leaves syncopate free...Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:38:34 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=51I often wondered what was at the bottom of the river. Then I heard the police were dredging and estimated 120 cars had been dumped in this stretch over the years. I found 2 of them.Sun, 24 Aug 2008 09:14:23 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=50arrive at the river with a piece of copper pipe and a story i wrote for a young friend who has had a hard time recently. speak the story through the pipe into the river. the river is high and fast today.Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:49:06 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=49experiments with home-made contact mics: 1) on wire fence along riverbank, 2) on branch of nearby bush. Icy wind and warm sun.Sun, 10 Aug 2008 08:24:21 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=48hot day, stand in the river up to my waist, light is reflecting into and from the water onto leaves and tree trunks. i try to strum the guitar in time with the flickering lightTue, 29 Jul 2008 09:09:16 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=47... walk back to car, a little deflated.Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:52:27 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=46stopped by humming sound coming from cement works. played along, until battery runs out (again!)... Sun, 20 Jul 2008 05:41:14 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=45wade the river barefoot with jennifer monson, come to a place in the river and she begins to reflect sound off the water with her mouth, i join in, we converse with the river. my nose in the water, i see young trout passing by..Sat, 19 Jul 2008 18:45:55 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=44theres the smell of water mint on the riverbank, take off my shoes, dig a hole in riverbed, put my head in it. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:13:24 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=43chilly and unsettled, walking the river's edge. draw man with guitar in the earth with a stone from the old railway track.Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:47:25 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=42in the forest, each time a bird sings i take a hazel leaf and 'pop' it in my hand, the bird leaves of course..Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:19:56 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=41sometimes I come with an empty head, but occasionally i come with a lot of purpose. tonight i had a clear aim - to get up high, to get to the footbridge and stand in the middle. I get there and stop, then dangle my microphones over the side, letting them dance in the wind.Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:55:03 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=40Approach a field of cows by the river, speak to them(badly), sit amongst them and nuzzleThu, 19 Jun 2008 11:38:15 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=39my first walk to the river in 2 weeks.. ive been somewhere else. i arrive at the river and lie on the bank facing the sun, feet in the water. eventually i see what appears to be a brown trout rise out of the water and stare at me and float down the bank in mid air..no jest! i then see that the trout's head is in the mouth of a mink, black, it is camouflaged by the shade of the bank. it walks slowly carrying the trout as big as itself until it disappears into a patch of nettles. i lie with this image and sing a song..Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:48:30 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=38Clear day. Walking backwards to the water, pulling guitar.Sun, 01 Jun 2008 12:16:28 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=37Lonely dog. Sympathetic guitar.Sun, 25 May 2008 12:03:07 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=36late afternoon on the riverbank, sit facing the sun, energy low, fighter planes pass over, make a reed out of grass, blow, later buzzards call back Sun, 18 May 2008 22:20:37 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=35wake to radio news of aftermath in Burma stand in forest, close my eyes, hold a white stick and walk to the river balancing a tin drum on my headSun, 11 May 2008 08:36:30 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=34Not much to say today. sat quietly with the rabbits under the westgate bridge.Sat, 10 May 2008 08:09:43 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=33walked along the bank the usual way, off into 'waste' ground and building site. stopped at concrete tunnel under railway. felt good to sing.Sat, 03 May 2008 12:28:42 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=32sit in a clearing listening to birdsong, trees are being felled nearby. there are fallen trees at my feet, tie guitar to top of tree with its lead and raise the tree to vertical the guitar waves like a flag before it falls again Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:42:38 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=31Been carrying these pheasant feathers around for weeks now...Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:41:00 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=30Riverbank marigolds opening in the sun playing guitar with the undergrowthWed, 23 Apr 2008 15:19:58 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=29Who comes to the river at night? dog-tired, i prop the guitar in a tree, sit quietly beneath and listen to the leaves playing. (to be able to play with such sensitivity!)Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:51:56 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=28six bottles a guitar and a branch in the river, a man appears (a rare occurence here), named Graeme he is visiting the river forty years to the day that he left it. he fished here, caught sewin and trout, he swam and walked it with friends and as he speaks i see he is back there, forty years ago. he is full of reverie and it is infectious, as he leaves he gestures to the guitar and bottles, an incline of the head is all thats needed..Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:15:50 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=27hail rain stones and sticksThu, 10 Apr 2008 13:10:19 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=26saturday afternoon is a lot more lively - people fishing and cycling. i meet 2 small boys - one plays his harmonica for me and they ask if i'll play my guitar. i decline but immediately regret it. instead i find a quiet spot to sit amongst fallen leaves and seed pods.Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:27:19 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=25just walking the riverbanks, occasionally crossing the river.. watching a large branch becoming caught in the bank, counter to the flow it creates turbulence in itself and the water around it. It remains in this state of balanced tension, oscillating beautifully. It is stuck, but it seems that this is a transitory state, a balance, the branch is likely to become untethered at any moment.. Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:47:35 +0100http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=24under railway bridge between footscray and kensington. damp chill. made a boat from 2 pieces of wood and watched it meander downstream. does everything end up in the sea eventually?Sat, 29 Mar 2008 05:48:39 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=23listen to spring birdsong river high and muddy wood anemone wood pecker tie guitar to dead tree with cable and drag along the forest floor..Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:10:43 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=22drag guitar thro hawthorn bushes by river, throw guitar in river, it floats 200m. downstream, retrieve, fall in, walk home..Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:50:39 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=21Just sitting and listening. Moon almost full: is it the same everywhere?Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:42:53 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=20Fri, 14 Mar 2008 23:10:19 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=19footbridge, stoney creek backwash. Talking to gulls and pelicansThu, 13 Mar 2008 09:07:20 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=18cold wind today, river in spate, 2 men planting trees along the riverside. walking through conifer forest i pluck the dead, horizontal branches as i pass. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:23:26 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=17(part 2)Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:12:28 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=1611 am approach the river, the smell of fox again, a woodpecker in a tree. water low, calm, green wade to the eddies by the big meander, balance the guitar in the ash tree, rest the neck on the riverbed. the water plays the strings, there are different surges and frequencies in the volume of water. i approach the guitar through the water, the turbulence i create changes the sound. i play the copper pipe into the water close to the machine heads, the strings pick up the vibration. i have borrowed my friend Ade's waders, when i enter the river i feel the strange weight of the water compress me and the way i move is in relation to the volume and movement of water around me ..unstable, like dancing before i can walk...Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:21:32 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=15Cold wind i draw in the dust with guitar then strum quietlyThu, 28 Feb 2008 10:43:28 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=14strong smell of fox, a newly killed pheasant, river low and green, the rooks are beginning to nest, misty blue day catkins, guitar perched in a hazel branch over the river, breeze cradles itWed, 20 Feb 2008 10:55:00 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=13Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:28:03 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=12indoors, flu, aching limbs, outside ice and sun,Sun, 17 Feb 2008 09:10:23 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=11(9.28pm)Just listening... (10.09pm)Under railway bridge catching wind in guitar strings. Bats and ratsFri, 15 Feb 2008 11:13:02 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=10(8.52pm)preparing to put guitar in river... (9.20pm)Guitar drying i sit and play harmonica figure standing on opposite bank i wonder what he's doing i see starfishThu, 07 Feb 2008 10:13:02 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=99.38am bend in the river strong current today play with copper tube walk home in sunlightThu, 07 Feb 2008 09:41:00 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=8Tue, 03 Feb 2008 11:43:52 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=72 buzzards, low morning sun, frost, cold feet and a sheet of steel Thu, 31 Jan 2008 07:04:55 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=6walking along railway track to bridge. start to play harmonica. recorder battery runs out. continue playing and humming in the dark, trucks overhead.Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:18:55 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=5At the mouth of stoney creek. low tide mud. drop leaves on guitar til battery flat and sun downWed, 23 Jan 2008 10:11:00 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=4Starlings 2 young fox lizard on road cormorant fishing wade barefoot fall inWed, 23 Jan 2008 09:32:36 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=3 Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:03:14 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=2(10.23pm) Searching for a place. Saw lone rabbit. Bird call echoed off shipping containers. Wind blowing waves inland. Threw a stone.Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:23:00 +0000http://www.untitledstates.net/pings/ping.php?id=1The river is swollen leaves washed off the path by rain new shoots have grown beneathThu, 17 Jan 2008 09:48:00 +0000