Part of Buzzcut's Emerging Artist Award - Residency title: Developing 'Waiting for Us' with Isa Gordon
Emily and Isa will be exploring the sound components of 'Waiting for Us'. They’ll be developing soundscapes for the three species that will be honoured in the performance: Of land - The Pinta Tortoise, Of Air: The Ivory Billed Woodpecker, Of Water: The Smooth Handfish. They’ll also be drawing from the eulogies that Emily has written for these species - turning certain words/phrases into melodic overlays. These explorations will inform the next stage, which will see Emily and Isa bringing on board additional voices to form the 'Choir of Tears' - a small group of amateur singers, dressed in tear-drop costumes, that will become an integral component of the live performance.

About the artist

Emily Furneaux is a multi-disciplinary artist working across performance, writing, drawing, food and dining experiences. She is guided by her lived experience; often weaving autobiographical narratives into relatable shapes and collaborative processes. After healing from a traumatic bipolar flare-up during COP 26, Furneaux has been developing a new work rooted in planetary grief; it serves as an example of how we might hold a space to grapple with such difficult emotions. Fusing spoken word, culinary works, electronic sounds and live vocal overlays, it pays tribute to three species we have recently lost to climate change - celebrating their existence in a similar way to how we come together to celebrate a human’s life at a funeral. In this initial developmental phase Furneaux will be collaborating with DJ, Producer, Sound Engineer and Singer - Isa Gordon. As playful as it is emotional, Gordon’s music combines ethereal electronic programming and defiant live instrumentation into tracks that are both sparse and dense, meditative yet pensive. Gordon's acclaimed debut album ‘For you Only’ came out on Optimo Music label in 2022.

Development credits

This residency is supported by Buzzcut via their Emerging Artist Award

Image credits
Main banner image - EFurneaux in Her Studio Photo Credit: Emily Furneaux
2. Title: Press shot of Isa Gordon in Cathkin Park, Glasgow Photo Credit: Harrison Reid
3. Title: Isa Gordon performing live at Eden festival Photo Credit: Jack Sheehan
4.Title: Mon£yM£al_ArygleStreet_2021 Photo Credit: Ellie Harrison
5. Title: Isa Gordon performing live at the Gathering Hall in Skye for the Magic Mountain Festival Photo Credit: Ruth Chalmers
6. CiggieStories_prototypeforpublication Photo Credit: Emily Furneaux
7. Title: CiggieStories_ediblecigarette Photo Credit: Emily Furneaux