ANDY WEBSTER
The project was inspired by the story of a group of Latvian dissidents in the late 70s, nomadic, pod dwellers who used CB radio to broadcast music, stories, poetry and methods of resilience such as foraging, fire building, water purifying and preparations for other future scenarios.
The broadcasts would occasionally be picked up by truck drivers travelling between Riga and Roja, and their weird and futuristic stories became a talking point amongst Trucker communities, which led to the dwellers being given their own CB handler ‘Signals from Another World’.
Using archive photos, a replica pod was reconstructed and artists from Germany, Latvia, the UK and the USA were invited to contribute materials; stories, songs, lectures, and live readings for radio broadcasts which were made each day from the site. The daily broadcasts included readings by Elita Klavina (The Riga New Theatre) of texts by Tim Okser.
The project was made in collaboration with Darren Ray, with the support of Derek Tyman, curator Maris Grosbahs, and architect Oskars Redbergs. The construction remains sited on the edge of a wooded area in Roja.
The work was developed at the Roja ArtLab, Latvia [2018]. For further information, visit the rojaartslab.
Playing tracks by Mick Ronson & David Bowie, The Damned, Joey Ramone, Velimir Khlebnikov, Azfar Hussain, Alain Badiou and more.
Playing tracks by Saul Williams, Allen Ginsberg Reads, Fugazi, Engine Ears Documentary, John Zorn and more.
To listen to all 18 broadcasts, follow here.