Lipticks
Lipticks are machines that physically tap the lips of singers while they sing. Below, you can see a photograph of six singers performing with these machines.
I am researching how machines can create physical rhythms within the voice and how this physical intervention can alter the way we sing. What happens when the rhythm of the voice is not only produced acoustically, but also physically imposed on the body? Can the machines make the voice sound faster, slower, more fragmented, or otherwise transformed? And what happens to a choir when its voices are mechanically choreographed. Perhaps creating machines for a lazy choir?
The machines are/will be used across different performative settings: as a duo, with six singers, within a larger theatrical setting, or as part of a choir. I am interested in how the relationship between the machine, the body, and the collective voice.
Documentation of MUTE – graduation piece 2026 Conservatory HKU Musician 3.0
“MUTE is a vocal performance that explores the relationship between the human voice, limits of the body, and technology. Created by Myra-Ida van der Veen, the work evolved from an artistic research investigating how machines or other physical instruments can manipulate and extend the anatomy of a voice, searching for a delicate balance between external control and natural vocal expression. MUTE listens closer to the impulse to shape the body toward a machine – in search of perfection, unity and extentions of the body. In this piece, the performance charts a course from natural voices to extended techniques, moving from the internal visualization of the lungs to external physical extensions like pipes and machines. It is a vocal evolution captured within a single operatic work: exploring the primal need to adapt, to be perfect, to unite, to speed up and to fit our voices into it’s surrounding technological landscape. The Team: Maker & Singer: Myra-Ida van der Veen Co-Composer & Performer: Andrzej Konieczny Vocal Ensemble: Wouter Mol, Marilena Karapataki, Sam van den Heuvel, Joske Mesters, Eva Luna Kordas Light: Lennard van der Valk Creative Tech Support: Nathan Marcus With Warm Thanks To: This project could not have come together without the support, guidance, and space provided by: Ceola Tunstall-Behrens, Maarten Keus, Nina Glockner, Kristina Fuchs, Ned MC Gowan, Joost Heijthuijsen, Tara Pasveer, TETEM, Club Laak, Rizoom, Mandy Slager, Mireia Varón Gallofré, and Musician 3.0 HKU Master Program”
