Darsha Hewitt + Alexandre Quessy - 2007
The Rotarian Choir is a sound installation featuring a chorus of table-top and wall-mounted rotary telephones. Relying solely on the original gong ringers in these modern communication devices, The Rotarian Choir chimes out a repertoire ranging from cheerful and uplifting to downright dismal compositions. The timbral range of the phones vary from harmonious ringing to subtle clicks and muted metallic purrs
The Rotary Telephone’s graceful decline towards obsolescence has gained it a valuable collectible status and is now an item bought and sold by collectors of modern design. However, they can sometimes be found tucked away in the basements and crawl spaces of our homes. All the phones in The Rotarian Choir are Canadian made and were collected by trading with people on Internet based trading posts. They were exchanged for anything from a loaf of banana bread to a handshake.
The artists thank Ken Campbell (technical consultant) for his support in this project.