This is a sound recording of the city of Cape Town mic’ed up from twelve points of historical, political and economic significance to capture the sound of the Noonday Gun on a particular day. The Noonday gun was set up in Cape Town by the British, and strangely enough, even though the British have long since relinquished political power in the country the gun is fired. The final work comprised of each of the twelve recordings spliced together in a sequence of five-second sound clips. This work was created for a BBC-based radio art exhibition curated by Scanner. [James Webb, 2004]
James Webb, 1975, South Africa, has been working on both large-scale installations in galleries and museums as well as unannounced interventions in public spaces since 2001. His work explores the nature of belief and dynamics of communication in our contemporary world, often using exoticism, displacement and humour to achieve these aims. Webb’s work has been presented around the world at institutions such as the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, CCA Kitakyushu in Japan and the Darat al Funun in Amman, Jordan, as well as on major international exhibitions such as the 2013 Biennale di Venezia, the 2010 Marrakech Biennale, the 2009 Melbourne International Arts Festival and the 2007 Biennale d’Art Contemporain de Lyon. His work is represented in the collections of the Iziko South African National Gallery, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum, the Darat al Funun, Amman, and Domaine Pommery, Reims.