Phonograms
Siôn Parkinson
Antechamber: A Musical
With Antechamber: A Musical, Siôn Parkinson transforms the house-museum into a musical score, taking as his starting point the antechamber: literally, a room before a room. Traces of gestures, movements and voices left on artworks, books, furnishings and carpets become a form of musical notation through which to listen to the Villa.
Two voices, in English and Italian, intertwine with Robbie Donal’s Scottish smallpipes, the sounds of the house — clothing, furniture, books and billiard balls — and the sounds of contemporary “antechambers”, from hold music to virtual waiting rooms.
The antechamber thus becomes a state of suspension in which voices, bodies and objects wait to pass from one condition to another.Listen
Listen to the Phonogram by Siôn Parkinson
Siôn Parkinson is a Scottish artist, composer and performer. Working across singing, sound, costume and live performance, his practice explores the sensory qualities of objects and the traces left by touch, use and handling.
He has created performances, films and books exploring subjects such as the smells of mushrooms, phantom smells, hair and stains, often developing his projects through research in museums, archives and natural history collections.
He is a Research Associate at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the author of Stinkhorn (Sternberg, 2024). In 2026, he was selected as a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker. He is currently working on a new book and musical about the colour brown.