A series of personal questions addressed to Lac Léman

James Webb has an academic background in religion, theatre and advertising. His artistic practice has been described as an exploration of belief and the dynamics of communication in our contemporary world. He often employs found objects, sound and text as tools for this inquiry.

In his ongoing project, A Series of Personal Questions, Webb poses spoken questions to selected objects or spaces. These interventions may take place live or as sound installations, with speakers positioned in relation to the chosen object. No answers are written, offered or implied. Each question is suspended – left open – before the next one is posed. One outcome of this approach is that the audience may find themselves turning to the object for answers, potentially projecting their own responses onto it.

With this work, Webb suggests that every object is more than the sum of its parts or its symbolic meaning – it has, in a sense, lived through a unique set of experiences. The object is never physically altered, touched only by sound waves. The project offers an encounter, not an imposition of meaning, giving initiative back to the object through the act of questioning. The form of address seeks to honour the object and create a space for it to communicate on its own terms. The questions – and the internal answers they may provoke – serve to reframe the object, challenging conventional exhibition conditions and opening new paths for interpretation, parallel narratives and conceptual possibilities.

For KorSonoR, James Webb is preparing two new works in this series.
A Series of Personal Questions Addressed to Lac Léman, a sound installation in the public space by the lakeside – see location.
In addition, A series of personal questions addressed to the Port Statue, currently housed in the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire Geneva, inventory number 004261 – see event page.