Dup-boug-a-dad is curious about different ways of being in the world. Its form and content address the body and some of the many ways of being bodied. In parts intervention, documentary, document and music video, it features my friend David Gunn.
David loves cheerleading. Living in rural Nova Scotia, as he does, his main access to the sport is through YouTube. The footage in Dup-boug-a-dad was taken when David visited Kitchener-Waterloo and practiced with the University of Waterloo cheerleading teams in 2015.
David loves to sing. Being deaf, as he is, he sings in his own language. The song in Dup-boug-a-dad is, at least in part, about lifting a cheerleader up with one arm. He sang it while “hearing” his voice haptically. This was made possible by his standing on a vibrotactile platform that vibrated in response to the sounds he made, translating his voice into a felt, tactile sensation. Two of these platforms (generously provided by the VibraFusionLab in London, ON), a wheelchair ramp and a vibrotactile bench are present in the gallery space.
CREDITS
Featuring: David Gunn and The University of Waterloo Varsity and Junior Varsity Cheerleading Teams
Voice: David Gunn
Guitar: Cailen Dye
Drum: David Bobier
Audio recording: Cailen Dye at VibraFusionLab
Lead Camera & Colour: Terry O’Neill
Camera 2: Laura Arendoque
Camera 3: Tani Omorogbe
Production Assistant: David Shumaker
Dup-boug-a-dad has been exhibited at UWAG in Waterloo, ON; the 2017 WRO Biennale in Wroclaw, Poland; and the The New Gallery in Calgary, AB.
An audio described version of the video can be found here and a transcript, here. Audio Description services provided by John Hauber Productions.
Photography by Scott Lee.