Sonic Graffiti at Monomania

When Brother Bear posted a video of one of my Sonic Graffiti pieces installed in Cambridge as part of Monomania, I was reminded of how much I enjoyed making them and how I should probably share some pictures.

Here is the video:


 
 

And here are some pictures:
 
I like to ride my bicycle
I Like To Ride My Bicycle – acoustic Sonic Graffiti piece
 
 
Message recorder
Message Recorder – listen first, then leave a message for the next person
 
 
Message recorder - response
Message Recorder – reaction [an actual real, unsolicited one]
 
 
Dual-oscillator synth
Dual-oscillator synth – cemented into a wall
 
 
Bent
Player – a circuit-bent, game controller audio player
 
 
HONK
HONK! – an optical synth with an acoustic amplifier
 
 
Active Listening instruction
Active Listening instruction – amazing sounds from overhead cables transmitted through post
 
 

Ideas for Breakfast

I am doing a talk/presentation on “Sonic Graffiti & Active Listening” on the 19th of August, at the rather swanky looking W Hotel in London. I’ll be discussing my Sonic Graffiti project and then spending some time getting people to focus on the sounds that they might normally ignore or filter out.

This is part of W London’s Ideas for Breakfast series, which is aimed at inspiring (and feeding) people. Here’s what Design Week had to say about it: Ideas for Breakfast

 

Looking forward to my Artist Residency with Tim Atack at iShed


 

I’ve been really lucky over the period of my sabbatical to get to work with some great people. Some of these collaborations [ ORE / MortonUnderwood ] are lasting and will shape my future.

Until my sabbatical I was a rather solitary artist but I have learnt just how rewarding working with others can be. Trusting someone else to deliver to the standard you are used to doesn’t daunt me as it once did; it’s about finding the right people to work with.

It is on this basis that it gives me great pleasure to announce my collaboration with Tim X Atack and iShed in Bristol later this year. Myself and Tim have been selected as artists in residence to work together to develop ideas based around Tim’s writing (words and music) and my Sonic Graffiti project.

This is very cool on a number of levels. Firstly, it’s great to have met Tim, as pleasant talented folk are always good to have in your life. Secondly, from our initial discussions I am VERY excited by how his influence might shape the project. Who knows we might actually make something genuinely moving with my emphasis on extending user interfaces and his on narrative. Thirdly, the very talented Juneau Projects are the other artists selected for the residency, which can only lead to good things. Lastly, and crucially, iShed is pretty much a dream place to do a residency. They have a proven track record of commitment to open and frank exchange to aid artist development, along with an attitude to creative work that strikes me is about as good as it gets.

Bring this on!