Say Parsley is a sound and language installation created by writer Caroline Bergvall and composer Ciarán Maher. It has been reworked and rethought for this latest siting at the Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol, UK (8 May–4 July 2010).

This video is a rough edit document of the installed piece.

(4 minutes)

The audience is invited into a spatial environment of sparse, intricate, playful linguistic and sonic pieces that expose questions of belonging and violence through various acoustic and kinetic engagement with writing/reading/listening.

The background to the title is a shibboleth event that took place in Haiti in 1937—a brutal event where language became pretext to massacre. The pronunciation of a given word or letter exposes the identity of the speaker: how you speak will be used against you.

Photos by Jamie Woodley