At the Crossroads With Vincent

An exploration of inner and outer landscapes inspired by the writings of Vincent van Gogh and artists from CoolTan Arts, this audio performance for an audience of one subverts the usual forms of a guided walk and invites listeners on a journey through the city and their own subconscious.

It can be heard anywhere in the world, but the content was developed in the area surrounding 87 Hackford Road, London where Van Gogh lived from 1873 to 1874. This period can be seen as a turning point in the artist's life as it was during this year that he first experienced a period of depression, lost his job and began to seek out a new identity.

Van Gogh allegedly suffered from epilepsy, bi-polar disorder and delusions and this walk looks at mental health and how we might put ourselves in the vulnerable position of using our imagination publicly.

At the Crossroads With Vincent (a Van Gogh Walk) is available to listen to here (left) or to stream or download from Soundcloud. 

A global map of sites where a walk has been taken can be viewed and contributed to here.

The work was made alongside Saskia Olde Wolbers's Yes, These Eyes Are the Windows.

Image: caption and credit coming soon

Isa Suarez 

Isa Suarez trained as a classical musician, she is a composer, songwriter and singer from the Basque region. Her compositions and songs are eclectic and have been broadcast, performed and released worldwide. She composes scores for feature films, TV documentaries and public art projects both in the UK and internationally. She has exhibited at Tate Britain, Barbican Arts Centre, Whitechapel Art Gallery, South London Gallery, Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art and Cape Town Biennale. She has collaborated and performed with musicians from the English National Opera, the BBC Concert Orchestra, Jazz Renegades, Transglobal Underground, Inner Vision Ensemble, Revolutionary Dub Warriors, Test Department and The Khoi Khonnexion. Inspired by her interest in human rights and community engagement, Suarez has created several sound installations and public art works that explore these subjects through performance, sound art, music and lyrics. These projects have also led her to collaborate with other communities and artists including Amnesty International, Platform, Liberate Tate, CoolTan Arts, The Big Chill, Glastonbury and Liberty festivals, Teatro Vivo, the New Teenagers Gospel Choir, Greatmore Studios and Etoy.

CoolTan Arts

CoolTan Arts is a London-based arts in mental health charity promoting mental well-being through creativity. It is run by and for adults with mental distress from an arts centre in Southwark. Activities include exhibitions, public art projects and, since 2007, monthly guided cultural walks that help break down the stigma of mental distress.          

Images: (top) R.M. Sánchez-Camus, 2015. Photograph: Zbigniew Tomasz Kotkiewicz; (left) Isa Suarez (left) and R.M. Sánchez-Camus (right), London 2014. Photograph: Michael Fox

Selected Press

The compositions were great and I thought the voices, which were ordinary London voices, in particular at the end were very moving… – Saturday Review, BBC Radio 4, 7 Jun 2014

On Our Way Here

In this talk, Rachel Anderson speaks about how Artangel approaches the commissioning of collaborative works, Michelle Baharier talks through the beginnings of the CoolTan Arts organisation in squatted spaces in Brixton and R.M. Sánchez-Camus introduces his practice in applied live art. Together, they discuss the project At the Crossroads With Vincent which was developed alongside Yes, These Eyes Are the Windows.

Recorded 15 May 2014 at The Type Archive, 100 Hackford Rd, London SW9 0QU, United Kingdom.

This recording is also available to hear on Soundcloud.

Image: Inside 87 Hackford Road, Saskia Olde Wolbers, Yes, These Eyes Are the Windows (2014). Photograph: Marcus Leith

Lead Artist

R.M. Sánchez-Camus

Composer

Isa Suarez 

CoolTan Artists: William Ball, Michael Fox, Claire Collison, John Clehane, Florence Flaneur, Aaron Pilgrim, Safron Saidi, Sanda, Eimear Twomey

Spoken Voice

Narrator: Cherice McKenzie-Cook
Other spoken voices: William Ball, John Clehane, Florence Flaneur, Michael Fox, Wilde Fry, Aaron Pilgrim, Safron Saidi, Sanda, R.M. Sánchez-Camus, Isa Suarez, Eimear Twomey

Musicians

Violin: Marc Charles Montesinos 
Cello: Thomas Llywelyn Wrath
Oboe / Cor Anglais: Julia Hantschel
(all from the South Bank Sinfonia)
Vocals: Danielle Somerside, Isa Suarez, Simon Taylor
Guitars: David Azpiazu Torres
Saxophones: Paul Canton
Keyboards: Isa Suarez
Children's choir: The Kaos Music Theatre Choir

Script developed by R.M Sánchez-Camus with the writings of CoolTan Artists and Vincent van Gogh

Songs and music composed by Isa Suarez
Lyrics based on the writings of Vincent van Gogh
Orchestral music recorded and mixed by Olsi Rama at Artspace Studio, London

Mastering by The Fantastic Laura B
Audiowalk compiled and mixed at Flying Studios, London

Special Thanks

Suzy Davies, Ali Wood and Richard Free from The Kaos Music Theatre Choir; CoolTan Arts staff, Saskia Olde Wolbers, Bruce Jackman and Vincent van Gogh.

Produced for Artangel by Rachel Anderson

Credits

Commissioned and produced by Artangel with support from the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund. Artangel is generously supported by Arts Council England, and by the private patronage of The Artangel International Circle, Special Angels, Guardian Angelsand The Company of Angels.

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