SUKHDEV SANDHU
Night Haunts
www.nighthaunts.org.uk
ongoing
Artangel Interaction has invited writer and historian Sukhdev Sandhu to write a nocturnal journal unfolding over the course of 2006. His postings will appear sequentially at www.nighthaunts.org.uk, a microsite specially designed by Mind Unit. Sandhu's forays see him prospecting in the London night with the people who drive its pulse, from the avian police to security guards, zookeepers and exorcists. Acclaimed artist and musician Scanner has collaborated with Sukhdev and Ian Budden of Mind Unit to compose the sound for the site. Episodes already online are Avian Police, Night Cleaners and Loneliness. If you would like to be kept informed as each episode is posted, join artangel‘s mailing list by clicking here.
In the course of his Night Haunts adventures Sandhu reflects on the nature of the urban night: does the quality of night change between 1am and 4am, and between the East End and the West? Has 'night life' been gradually corroded and colonised by light and entertainment? What are the invisible economies that pulse through the sleeping city? Does the Thames change its character at dusk? Is authentic darkness impossible? Do we need darkness?
Sukhdev Sandhu has brilliantly chronicled the way black and Asian writers have experienced and re-imagined the city since the 1770s in his book London Calling (2003). His latest book, I'll Get My Coat with Usman Saeed, was launched in October 2005. He is chief film critic for the Daily Telegraph and was named Critic of the Year (British Press Awards, 2005). He regularly participates in public and radio debates, and his writing has appeared in a range of publications including the London Review of Books, Modern Painters, Smoke and Times Literary Supplement. He lives in Whitechapel.
Night Haunts is the latest in Artangel Interaction's ongoing series of artist-led projects, Nights of London, exploring the nocturnal city with the people who wake, work and watch over it. Nights of London began with artist David Blandy collaborating with young people from The Avenues Youth Project in Westminster. Together they made a documentary film, Radio Nights (2005), investigating the nocturnal worlds, musical innovations and underground language of West London's minority and pirate radio broadcasters. Further projects with night-time Londoners are in development led by artists including George Chakravarthi, Janice Kerbel and Sarah Woodfine.
Night Haunts is made possible with the generous support of Mala Gaonkar. Artangel Interaction is funded by Arts Council Lottery, the generous support of Vincent and Elizabeth Meyer and the John Lyons Charity.
