Hum, Return to Heaven: A pair of idle angels sit and hum together, one vacantly strumming their poorly tuned harp: a playful, absent-minded exchange between two reluctant celestial figures, indulging in the neglect of their heavenly purpose. ‘Hum, Return to Heaven’ is a soft and meandering exploration of intimacy through an instance of shared procrastination, playing on ideas of anti-climax.

There is a distinct comical undertone to ‘Hum’ that targets the uptight and superficial nature of certain artistic spaces, as the angels manipulate their audience by suggesting a majestic display that is never delivered. Reduced to awkward witnesses of a ‘non-event’, this realisation of being misled may evoke bewilderment or sometimes anger, challenging the notion of what deserves to be seen. ‘Hum’ aims to subvert and poke fun at the expectations of its audience, while creating an oasis of humour and purity.

Text by Elke Diggle

Hum, Return to Heaven was a performance orchestrated both for moving image and for live manifestation.

Contact Joely Mae Greally if you would like to watch the original performance tape.