JASMINE CANAVARI-LAYMON
LOCATION
Student Cubicles. Annie Smith Centre, Sheridan Trafalgar Campus. Oakville ON
Description of Project
For this site-specific assignment, I chose to lead a person through my cubicle space that I
share with four other students. I selected my cubicle space for this site-specific work because it is
one that I often occupy and can be found in whenever I am at Sheridan. It’s a place where I can
feel safe to store my artworks and has been a place where I have formed new friendships. For
this work, I am playing one audio, without much layering, of myself speaking directly to the
listener to describe each individual’s space, a bit of their personality and my relationship with
them. For example, in describing Sabrina’s space, I describe her relationship or use of coffee and
I am clearly amused in my tone. This is to simulate my relationship with Sabrina as being a
friendly one and one where we are often cracking jokes.
I came up with this idea by thinking of those in my shared space and how receptive they
are in general. For me, creating this work was not just inviting a listener into my space but into
our space. Now knowing my cubicle mates, I know most of them would be very receptive, one
with satire, and then me who is not a fan of strangers – which I make clear in my own section of
the audio. Since I knew most of my cubemates are very welcoming, I thought this piece would
be perfect to create interactions beyond the audio.
To create this work, I split it up into four sections. In Part 1 is the introduction and Anran,
Part 2 is Anica’s space, Part 3 is Sabrina and Katrina’s spaces and Part 4 is my space and the
quick conclusion. All of my field noises come from a variety of clips in which I am saying a prewritten
narration in different tones and speeds. These are either left alone or combined together
to create one singular audio for each of the four parts with a bit of layering when it comes to
myself asking the viewer to follow the rhythm I make with the jar of beads (that can be found in
the cubicle). Additionally, the layering is to come more organically as I start my work by asking
the person to leave one headphone out or to listen to my voice on low so they can hear what is
going on around them.
What I would like listeners to take away is not the end message of myself telling them to
“leave” my space but to see myself in these descriptions and to see how I gauge my relationships
with those around me. I would like the listener to get to know me without knowing my name and
without physically seeing me. I would like the listener to know me for how I speak and how that
changes throughout the duration of the audio.
Lastly, this relates to my work in other mediums as I am an artist who has lately been
focused on community-inspired or community-engaged works. I have begun to learn my place
and responsibilities in my various communities. This work explicitly talks about the community I
have created among my cube-mates and the listener engages with it. In terms of my previous
sound work, I am expanding upon the ideas of mixing live sound with pre-recorded sound by
having a pre-recorded tape with physical involvement and interactions.