Pump Up the Volume

Artist Jeremy Toussaint-Baptiste leads a group of several dozen faculty, staff and students on an unconventional musical journey – encouraging them to dance from the atrium of the Communications, Culture, Information and Technology Building to the outdoor courtyard while listening to music from a long-range acoustic device.

Known as a “sound cannon” for its ability to blast an extremely loud, focused beam of sound, the device has been used by the police and military to disperse crowds during protests and riots. But here, Toussaint-Baptiste has reimagined it.

For his performance piece Y’all Don’t Wanna Hear Me (You Just Wanna Dance), the U.S.-based artist has transformed the speaker and built-in microphone into a tool to connect people and “bring public joy.” As the dancefloor hit “Cha Cha Slide” (“slide to the left, slide to the right…”) pumps through the device, the audience shuffles along together. When the group follows Toussaint-Baptiste outside, the music softens into piano tones, encouraging a moment of quiet reflection.

Toussaint-Baptiste says he intentionally “misuses” the technology to reclaim a publicly funded tool that has often been wielded against the populace.

Presented by the Blackwood Gallery and Black at UTM, the event also featured a Q&A with the artist.