Tracing the Chora is a soundwalk through the interstices of the undeveloped industrial areas of Al Quoz and the arts district, Al Serkal Avenue. Conceived of and created by sound artists Fari Bradley and Chris Weaver.
The chora (Khôra) as defined by Plato, is a place in which the formed has not yet taken shape, therefore it is a node of potential. For us this meant a space through which to decipher the reality of our surroundings as Al Quoz was partly unformed and yet quickly taking solid shape over the weeks in which we created this highly choreographed guided walk.
The pedestrian (a rarity in Dubai where taxis are cheap and town planning does not consider walking a mode of transport) observes Al Quoz’s vastly different terrains through the eyes of those who have worked in the area for years. Narration and sound direct listeners on a, at times testing, one-hour journey that dissolves our view of a boundary between the Avenue and its neighbourhood. The chora is a space of potentiality that promises more to come, and therefore relates to some kind of a past. It is traced here by the voices and sounds of a neighbourhood’s habits, memories and meditations, markers of life amidst the rattle of incessant industry.
The commission is an Al Serkal programming commission.
Recorded in Al Quoz, Dubai, UAE with the participation of Yasser Elsheshtawy, Nadine Knotzer, Kourosh Noori, Sunny Rahbar, Ehsan Eshrof and Dariush Zandi
Images taken by the public on the walk
BRADLEY and WEAVER 