Research questions included: How might we invite publics into a space where they experience their voices as if they were garments, and inversely, their garments as if they were voices? Can we take them into the space of agency, and voice-shaping and choice, to which professional voice users have access, while emphasising the notion of vocal art leading into a space of fantasy?

Fashioning the Voice built forward from dialogues stimulated by the notion of voice-styling that Bonenfant had been exploring in other research. Led by Jennifer Anyan’s approach, the Team sought to develop an experience of ‘wearing the human voice’, giving participant-audiences knowledge of how to shape and style it in alignment with the actions that self-fashioning, specifically self-clothing, take on the imagination, on self-image. Anyan’s approach brought the team into contact with the ways fashion engages the world of fantasy, and with how fashion studies considers the notion of ‘audience’, opening up other ways of thinking for theatrical events. The initial imagination was that shyer (general public) audiences might merely mumble into a garment which would then speak back to them in their own voice, almost operatically, raising questions and potentials for them. The project was interrupted by Covid-19, for it involves sharing objects and microphones. However, a prototype was built and tested - with general public and non-sighted participants, and a prototype installation environment proposed. Outputs so far have included test exhibitions and an array of conference presentations and papers. See Anyan’s research exhibition.

Team: project leader, Jennifer Anyan (artist, fashion theory expert); Tychonas Michalidis (coding, sound, digitals, maker-tech); Yvon Bonenfant (voice thinking, voice-a-turgy); Katie Daley-Yates (producer/ evaluator). With advice contributions by Joshua Sofaer, David Shearing, and Design Engine Architects. Anyan’s research exhibition is here . Funded by Arts Council England, Southampton Solent University, Winchester University, and supported by the Solent Showcase Gallery.