You Are Not Alone

This limited edition book documents a recent commission, You Are Not Alone, by the Turner Prize 2010 nominated artist Susan Philipsz. Made for Modern Art Oxford, the work was specially created for the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford.

Taking the original function of the building as her starting point, Philipsz developed a new sound work that engaged with the uniqueness of this historical site. Built in the 18th century, the Radcliffe Observatory was modelled on the first-century BC Tower of the Winds in Athens.

In her work, Philipsz recalls Guglielmo Marconi's suggestion that sounds, once generated, never die; they fade but continue to reverberate as sound waves around the universe.

Philipsz elicits something of the existential and philosophical concerns present in Marconi's proposition and in the nature of the Observatory itself, as metaphorical frontier to the stars. The artist recorded herself playing radio interval signals, sourced from around the world, on vibraphone.

These recordings were broadcast from the rooftop of Modern Art Oxford to receivers and speakers placed at the Observatory. Visitors to the Observatory experienced a lament of sound, given a distant, ethereal and haunting quality by the use of the vibraphone.

Designed by Fraser Muggeridge Studio. Published on the occasion of the Modern Art Oxford offsite project You Are Not Alone at the Radcliffe Observatory, 31 October – 3 December 2009.