Sing Youself Happy (With Research Associates of Barriedale)

Installation with sound piece and group interaction, 2006

Visitors to Research Associates of Barriedale were invited to a group therapy session, in which they had the opportunity to improve their feeling of wellbeing by singing along with me.

The singing session was punctuated by sounds of screaming coming from the next room. These sounds were from the Get It All Out session, an exercise in releasing stored-up negative energy.

The work refers to research undertaken by Stanley Milgram investigating obedience to authority, in which volunteers were asked to electrocute a man in the next room.

The song used in the group interaction Sing Yourself Happy is "Pick Yourself Up" by Jerome Kern. Next time you're feeling down, why not sing it to yourself?

"Nothing's impossible, I have found,
For when my chin is on the ground,
I pick myself up, I dust myself off and I start all over again. Don't lose your confidence if you slip, be grateful for the pleasant trip,
Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again."