People Like Us (aka Vicki Bennett): The Library of Babel (2023) + Diacritical Mark

Tickets £13.50 / £12.50 concessions
Doors open 7.30pm, gig starts 8pm
Support TBC
This gig is for a seated audience
People Like Us (aka Vicki Bennett) 
The Library of Babel (2023) First there is experience.Then we attach a story to it. The Library of Babel is a vast library of words. Some combine to make stories of consequence, others arenonsensical. The library is complete.Yet searching it is futile. The title is inspired by a 1941 Jorge Luis Borges short story, exploring themes related to the complex interplay ofinfinity, knowledge, and the cosmic fabric, presented through the metaphor of a vast, seemingly infinite library. Inthe story, the librarians are isolated, focussed on an almost religious or existential quest, struggling to findmeaningful texts amidst an overwhelming number of nonsensical or irrelevant books. The library itself has no goalsor intentions; a canvas onto which searchers project their quests for meaning. The narrative delves into the angstand crises of those that explore its depths, raising questions about our ability to manage, navigate, and find meaningfrom vast amounts of information. In this new work by People Like Us, traditional storytelling gets a modern twist through the amalgamation of audio-visual collage and intricate editing techniques. The digital narrative reconfigures, decomposes, redirects, andrecombines images with sounds that are often already ingrained in audience’s collective consciousness due to theirprior associations within the selected materials. Initially, they sail on a journey of previous associations andmemories. However, the extensive fusion of source materials evolve them into a unified whole, severing pastaffiliations and pioneering uncharted territory that transcends memory to become a singular, immersive experience.Rather than adhering to a linear progression of events, the thematic narrative unfolds in layered complexities,offering a fragmented but coherent tale achieved through a blend of various sources and an ‘exquisite corpse’approach. Using collage as a medium democratises the content, making it resonant not just for aficionados of art, film, ormusic, but for a broad cross-section of the community. The technique is a universal entry point that appeals to bothyoung and old, presenting elements that can communicate varied messages about film, music, culture, or society.Alternatively, the collage can stand alone as an extraordinary experience devoid of an overt narrative. Indeed, theaim is to use storytelling as a tool to transcend the preconceived notions and internal stories that audiences maybring with them. Using dense collage and splintered narrative, “The Library of Babel” is a new audio-visual performance by People Like Us, a journey through cinema and sound where the actors are set adrift from their story, left with pure experience. Vicki Bennett (artist name People Like Us)  As a solo artist or collaborator Vicki has published more than 40 video projects and 50 audio recordings, with worksreleased by labels including Illegal Art, Rough Trade, Soleilmoon Recordings, Discrepant, Sonic Arts Network andTouch. Vicki’s DO or DIY show on the fiercely independent New York City-market radio station WFMU has run since2003. Her video work has been screened at Tate Modern, Whitechapel Gallery, BFI, Purcell Room, Barbican, ICA,V&A. Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), Sonar (Barcelona), MAXXI/National Museum of XXI Century Arts (Rome),Walker Art Center (Minneapolis) and Centro de Cultura Digital (Mexico City), among other institutions. Video workshave been aired on Channel 4 and radio sessions created for John Peel and Mixing It. peoplelikeus.org
https://peoplelikeus.org/2023/the-library-of-babel 

Support: DIACRITICAL MARK
Diacritical Mark is the improvised noise project of sound artist Stuart Bowditch. Previously a drummer in death metal and punk bands he now processes samples through a handful of machines and pedals. His source sounds constantly change and could be found or donated sounds, household objects, edits of death and doom bands.