Close up of a human eye and eyelashes stylised with a digitised appearance in duotone colours of red and black — Artwork by Tony Stiles.

Sing The Body Electric Collection 2

Immersive Exhibition

Please note: This event took place in Jan 2025

The second collection from the Sing The Body Electric Exhibition at Undershed explores what lies just beyond the edge of our perception and is revealed through unusual ways of encountering a story.

Detect the sound of the space between you and another person, come close to a wildly different world of colour, or explore the memories of someone whose story goes unheard.

With an explosion of colour throughout the space, these three artworks invite you to step outside your usual ways of perceiving the world - and see the invisible.

A rowing boat full of passengers nears a small desert island. The colours are fluorescent

The Island of the Colorblind

Installation
Multi-sensory

This work contains flashing light sequences which may affect people who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy.

In the late 18th century, a catastrophic typhoon swept over Pingelap, a tiny atoll in the Pacific Ocean. One of the survivors, the king, carried the rare achromatopsia gene that causes complete colorblindness. The king went on to have many children and as time passed by, most islanders started seeing the world in black and white. Achromatopsia is characterised by extreme light sensitivity, poor vision, and the complete inability to distinguish colours.

Originally a collection of photographs in a book – in this interactive installation, you are invited to enter a dreamlike world of colourful possibilities – and to rethink colour-vision and our shared perceptions of the environments we live in.

You enter a room, and find the four walls are covered in photographs of the Micronesian island. The space is lit by coloured light. You are invited to sit down at a table with a set of headphones, paint, water, printed pictures and brushes. As you listen to a voice guiding you through the painting process, a story unfolds, blending memory and myth, of the colourblind community of Pingelap.

On the outside of the room, the walls become slowly adorned with paintings created by you and the other audience members - who have painted with no sense of the colours used in a room lit by coloured light.

Sanne De Wilde

A visual artist working with the medium of photography, film, installation and painting, creating long term work on genetics, identity and perception while experimenting with collaborative approaches in storytelling.

She was awarded the Nikon Press Award in 2014 and 2016 for most promising young photographer. The British Journal of Photography selected De Wilde as one of 'the best emerging talents from around the world' in 2014 and she received the Firecracker Grant, PHmuseum Women's Grant and de Zilveren Camera award for 'The Island of the Colorblind’ in 2016. ‘Land of Ibeji’, her recent project with Bénédicte Kurzen, won a World Press Photo Award, the Rovinj Photo Award, Liangzhou Award, CAP Prize, Prix Voies OFF and was nominated for the ZEISS photography award in 2019.

Her work has been internationally published (The Guardian, New Yorker, Le Monde, CNN, Vogue) and exhibited (Rencontres d’Arles, Voies OFF, Tribeca Film Festival, Circulations, Lagos Photo, Lodz Fotofestiwal, IDFA, STAM).

A large, brightly coloured computer sits on a brightly coloured desk. In the background, a wall is painted in bold, bright gemoetric shapes.

Archive of an Unseen

Installation
Multi-sensory

This work contains themes of domestic violence and outdated or offensive language about race and disability.

The Archive of An Unseen tells the story of Christopher Samuel’s childhood, growing up as a Black, disabled, working class child from a single parent household in the 1980s and 1990s.

Addressing the imbalance of representation in medical and social archives and questioning the way in which stories are held and told – this piece offers a deeper understanding of the wider spectrum of human experience.

Looking like a cross between a brightly coloured video arcade machine and an archival Microform reader – you are invited to explore a digital archive of the artist’s life.

From before his diagnosis at age seven, being registered as disabled at age 14, through to leaving high school – as you make your way through photographs, medical documents, videos, audio clips and archival items, you build an in-depth narrative of a complex life from fragments of memory.

Christopher Samuel

A multi-disciplinary artist whose practice is rooted in identity and disability politics, often echoing the many facets of his own lived experience. His work tells stories, often raising awareness of his experiences as a black disabled artist, missing representation within archives, and shared narratives from others in similar circumstances. This includes detailed ink drawings, film, printing, research, and large installation-based work.

Two Subtle Bodies (2022) by Yeseul Song. Image courtesy of Leeum Samsung Museum of Art

Two Subtle Bodies (귀를 기울이면)

Installation

Two Subtle Bodies (귀를 기울이면, 2022) is an interactive sound experience exploring the invisible space between people.

The ‘subtle body’ is a concept that appears in Taoism and Dharmic religions and describes an idea of the body that includes physical sensation, the mind, memories and the unconscious – and extends out beyond the boundaries of your skin. In neuroscience, the space surrounding your body is called “peripersonal space”.

This artwork invites you to explore that complex sense of your own body - and what might be in the air between you and another person.

Sound design collaboration from Jesse Simpson & Greg Halleran, Garment design collaboration and production by Daniel Ryan Johnston.

Together with another person, you are invited to put on a custom-made iridescent cloak and a pair of bone conduction headphones before entering an empty space. As your two bodies move around – from far apart to right up close – you generate and discover sounds that correspond dynamically and in real time to your movement.

By perceiving this soft and fluid space, Two Subtle Bodies invites you to unlock new ways of connecting with each other. Imagine you can hear a stranger’s subtle body through sound - will it bring you closer?

Yeseul Song

A South Korean-born, NYC-based artist who uses technology, interaction, and participation as art media. Her work uncovers creative possibilities of non-visual senses through inventive sensory languages that advocate for imaginative and inclusive views of the world. Her work questions how we normally perceive, think, and interact through novel perceptual experiences. She explores and occupies non-traditional public spaces as well as institutions to challenge commonly held ideas about access and accessibility of art.

Her non-visual interactive experiences has inspired tens of thousands of people at indoor and outdoor spaces, including Clayarch Art Museum (South Korea), Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum (D.C.), Kansong Art Museum Daegu (Korea), Museum of Arts and Design (NY), Art in Odd Places (NY), and public spaces in NYC. Yeseul is an Assistant Arts Professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ Interactive Telecommunications Program & Interactive Media Arts (ITP/IMA).

More information

To visit Undershed you need to book one of the timed slots. Please turn up for the beginning of your time slot.
Please note if you are more than 20 minutes late, you will not be able to enter the exhibition.

To avoid disappointment, we recommend you book tickets for Undershed in advance - you can do this online, in person at Watershed Box Office, or by calling the team on 0117 927 5100.

Your ticket gives you access for 60 minutes, so take your time exploring the artworks and please arrive at the start of your time slot

Prices

Mon - Fri before 16:00

£8.50 full / £5.00 concessions, 24 or under, disabled people and wheelchair users (plus 12% booking fee*)

Mon - Fri after 16:00 and weekends

£11.00 full / £8.50 concessions / £5.00 24 or under, disabled people and wheelchair users(plus 12% booking fee*)

*Booking fee applies to online and phone bookings only

Ticket offers and Group bookings

Group booking: Buy six or more tickets for a slot and get 20% off. To book this discount please contact Box Office in person or call 0117 927 5100.

Private booking: Book an entire slot for you and up to 11 other people for £100. To book a private slot please contact Box Office in person or call 0117 927 5100.

Concessions

Concessions apply to Full Time Students, Job Seekers Allowance and Employment Support Allowance, 66+ who have retired, Equity and BECTU members and disabled people. Disabled people and wheelchair users can come to any slot on any day for £5.00.

Where applicable please produce proof of eligibility when collecting a ticket.

You can find out more information about Access at Undershed here. If we can do anything to make your visit to Undershed easier, please get in touch with us - just email communications@watershed.co.uk and we'll be happy to help.

Frequently asked questions

You can visit Undershed from:

12:30 – 18:45 from Monday to Wednesday,
12:30 – 20:30 on Thursday and Friday,
11:15 - 21:00 on Saturday,
10:00 - 19:45 on Sunday.

To visit Undershed you need to book one of the timed slots and turn up at the beginning of your time slot. We recommend you book in advance to avoid disappointment.

To avoid any surprises, check the programme details in advance to view the specific schedule of the exhibition or event that you're interested in visiting.

Some of artworks do have access requirements. You can find out more information about them on our Access at Undershed page. If we can do anything to make your visit to Undershed easier, please get in touch with us - just email communications@watershed.co.uk and we'll be happy to help.

Your ticket gives you access for 60 minutes from the start of your booked session - this will give you plenty of time to experience all the artworks in the Collection.
Please note if you are more than 20 minutes late, you will not be able to enter the exhibition.

Yes, in the welcome area of the Undershed there are spaces to leave your belongings while you are inside the exhibition. A Gallery Assistant will be in this area at all times.

No - but the Café & Bar is on the first floor for refreshments before and after your visit to Undershed.

Yes - but please refrain from taking or sharing images of people without permission whilst they are participating in the work.

Any technological hardware that you use as part of the artworks will be cleaned by the Gallery Assistants on a regular basis.

Sing The Body Electric Collection 2 is suitable for children aged 10 and over.

Yes. You are welcome to use any of the toilet facilities in Watershed then come back into the space.

Yes, we welcome resting at any point while you’re in Undershed. There is seating in both the welcome area and in the exhibition space. There are also yoga mats and blankets should you need to lie down at any point - and please speak to the Gallery Assistants if so.

If you are more than 20 minutes late, you will not be able to entre the exhibition. So please arrive just before the time stated on your ticket.

Don't worry, if the artworks use unfamiliar technologies, the Gallery Assistants will always be there to help you work out what to do.

The duration of each piece varies, and you don't have to stay for the full time. Your ticket allows you access for 60 minutes, which is more than enough time to experience every artwork in the Collection, so there's no need to rush. You can return to an artwork if you like, and you don't need to experience them in a particular order.

There is a capacity of 12 for each bookable slot. If you prefer a quieter slot, we have introduced Relaxed Visits and Masked and Socially Distanced Visits, which both have reduced capacities.

We are currently evolving the Undershed model. We are likely to produce two themed and curated shows a year, plus a series of takeovers and showcases. We will issue a formal call for ideas based around our themes twice a year - look out for the first of these in early 2025. If you would like the Undershed curatorial team to consider your work outside of these themes, please fill out this form.

Sing the Body Electric Collection 2 is not suitable for children under 10 and some of the artwork would be difficult to experience whilst looking after a baby by yourself.

We have programmed a Gallery Babies session on Thu 19 Dec at 14:00. Come with your baby (12months and under) and a companion so each of you can take turns to go into the exhibition. The Gallery Babies session includes a 2 for the price of 1 ticket and there is limited availability. Booking for this Gallery Baby slot is open now.

Yes you can - please check the Calendar to find one our Relaxed Visit slots. To be kept informed about Relaxed slots and other accessible events please sign up to our Accessible Mailing List. You can also let us know about your access requirements by signing up to our Access Register.

What to expect during a Relaxed Visit to Undershed:

Maximum of 6 people in the space so you can spend longer with each of the artworks
Gallery Assistants will have more time to spend with you if you need them and explain what to expect so you can choose which if the artworks you are comfortable to try.
More seating options for you to rest and relax.
The welcome space is a quiet space where you can chill out if you need it.

Yes you can - please check the Calendar to find one our Masked and Socially Distanced slots. To be kept informed about Masked and Socially Distanced slots and other accessible events please sign up to our Accessible Mailing List. You can also let us know about your access requirements by signing up to our Access Register.

What to expect during a Masked and Socially Distanced Visit? (MSD):

Maximum of 4 visitors in the space.
Our Gallery Assistants will also be wearing masks.
Gallery Assistants will have more time to spend with you if you need them and explain what to expect so you can choose which if the artworks you are comfortable to try.
More seating options will available for you to rest and relax.
These events are open to everyone, but are part of our offer for audiences and customers who would rather they had more space and less people in the exhibition.
For this reason mask wearing is mandatory throughout your visit if you're not exempt.

Yes there is - you can listen to Amy Rose, Curator of Undershed talk about Collection 2 here. You will just need your phone and some headphones.

Undershed is new space for us and we're excited to welcome you to it. We know there will be things we can improve on and adapt. Please send us your thoughts and any outstanding questions you have - email us on communications@watershed.co.uk or have a chat with one of our Gallery Assistants.

Visiting Undershed for the first time

Undershed Gallery is located on the ground floor of Watershed - the entrance is to the right of the Box Office desk. If you haven't visited Watershed before, check out our Visit page for access, location and transport information.

Arrive at Undershed before the start time on your ticket. A Gallery Assistant will greet you in the welcome area, talk you through what to expect from the artworks, show you the technology, and answer any questions you may have.

When you are ready, you can move forwards through some curtains and enter the Exhibition space. Your ticket gives you access for 60 minutes, so take your time exploring the artworks.

A close up of a hand on flesh under a yellow and grey filter. — Artwork by Tony Stiles

What is Undershed?

Undershed is a new gallery for showing the best immersive and interactive artwork from all over the world. The first of its kind in Bristol and rare across the UK – this dedicated space will stage themed exhibitions that change every few months.

Undershed is a place to come together and experiment with new forms of storytelling. Come on in, keep an open mind and tell us what you think.

Sing The Body Electric Collection 2

10 years and over