Audio descriptions will be made available to listen to after the events on artesmundi.org.

During the event we will have time to discuss four minutes from Meiro Koizumi’s film work ‘Angels of Testimony’ that is presented in the Artes Mundi 9 exhibition.

Content Warning: Parental guidance and viewer discretion is advised.

Some viewers may find the video installation of ‘Angels of Testimony’ distressing as it contains some verbal and subtitled descriptions of experiences of war crimes including active combat, murder and mass murder, physical and sexual violence, rape, suicide, incest, racial slurs, kidnapping and torture.

Anne Hornsby is a pioneer of UK Audio Description, having introduced the second audio description service in England to the Octagon Theatre, Bolton,  in 1989.  She launched Mind’s Eye in 1992 to offer audio description for theatres, galleries, museums, dance, film festivals and online content.  She has won two awards for her work and is an accredited trainer. Prior to lockdown, she was audio describing over 100 events a year in addition to offering training on a regular basis.  She is very much looking forward to a return trip to Wales, albeit virtually, and expanding access to the exhibition.

Image description: The image shows a large dark space with black walls, black floors and a white ceiling. On the floor are six white benches, cube shaped and big enough for one person each. On the far wall are two large images being projected onto screens and on the far right is a smaller TV screen placed on a white plinth. The screen on the far left shows a young Japanese woman in a white jumper and with shoulder length dark brown hair and a fringe. Subtitle text at the bottom of the screen reads: ‘without doing anything to stop it.’ The screen to the right of this shows the same young Japanese woman, this time it is a slightly wider shot and we can see she is wearing blue jeans and sitting on a blue chair, her knuckles clasped around the edge of the seat. She is reading from a white piece of paper and again, at the bottom of the screen the subtitles read: ‘without doing anything to stop it.’ The final, smaller TV screen on the right shows a much older Japanese man. He is sitting in front of a window and light is shining on his face. His lips are pursed and slightly parted and it appears he is saying something but there are no subtitles at the bottom of the screen.

Image Credit: Meiro Koizumi. The Angels of Testimony, 2019 (detail). Three-channel video installation, colour, sound, archival materials. Commissioned by the Sharjah Art Foundation. Courtesy the artist, Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam and MUJIN-To Production, Tokyo. Installation view: Artes Mundi 9. Photography: Stuart Whipps