SONIC BODY////

SONIC INSTALLATIONS AND VIDEO WORKS THROUGH, BY AND FOR BODIES

@ WESTSPACE GALLERY 

with works by:

BRANDON LABELLE

PHILIP SAMARTZIS & MARCIA JANE

BRUCE MOWSON

JAMES HULLICK

ABOUT SONIC BODY

Where: West Space, Level 1, 15–19 Anthony Street, Melbourne 3000, Ph: (+61 3) 9328 8712 Web: www.westspace.org.au

When: Oct 1–4, 2008 Hours: W–F 12–6, S 12–5 Opening: Oct 2, 6–8pm

Sonic Perfomance Dates:     Opening night at 7pm – James Hullick performing for 10mins (no entry fee)

                                                      Sat Oct 4 at 5pm – Philip Samartzis & Lizzie Pogson for 40mins + ($5 entry) 

The Sonic Body: Construction 1 exhibition is the first event in JOLT Arts Inc.'s ongoing series of presentations that explore sound as being generated by bodies, though bodies for bodies. In what ways might the articulation of a sound demand some kind of corresponding physical body or bodies? Our first offering here features a sono-interview based video work by USA conceptual sound artist Brandon La Belle, sound sculptures by Bruce Mowson and James Hullick, and a video and sound installation by Marcia Jane and Philip Samartzis. Each of these works, in their own unique way, make a contribution to the investigation of sound as a physical entity, which is a core and unifying activity of sound artists around the world today. Two concert style performances will also take place, the first on opening night (2nd Oct at 7pm) will feature James Hullick and the second on the closing Saturday (4th Oct at 5pm) will feature Philip Samartzis and Lizzie Pogson.

Marcia Jane has been funded by RMIT Arts Union for this project.

ABOUT THE WORKS

Photos by Tim McNeilage

CONCERT (2004) BY BRANDON LABELLE  (USA)

Exploring the relation of sound and language, the work operates as a series of "interviews". Originating from video footage of different urban scenes, participants are played only the soundtrack and asked to describe sounds they are hearing. Presenting the original video, along with participants' verbal responses, the work forms a dialogue between place and aural life, infusing the urban environment with personal voices.

VALENCE (2008) BY MARCIA JANE & PHILIP SAMARTZIS

Unite, react, interact; a bond is formed when two entities merge with one another. Merging gives rise both to interference and a pairing of movements: energy drops as they approach each other, increasing again when they become too close.

2-channel video, 5 min, 2008

SWING (2008) BY BRUCE  MOWSON

Contrary to its name, Swing is not a simple swing, but a balance based upon the double pendulum, and a machine for heightening physicality. The visual aesthetic of the work is minimal and there is no compelling reason to paint the timbres, or otherwise ornament the work, and conversely  the power of the work is located away from the visual toward the kinaesthetic experiences it produces

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SONG OF THE GOTHOLIN (2008) BY JAMES HULLICK

Mechanised violins in the form of a large metal insect. Old and new gothic. (Photos by James Hullick and tim McNeilage)

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Brandon LaBelle is an artist and writer working with sound and auditory issues. He is the author of Background Noise: Perspectives on Sound Art (Continuum 2006), and Professor at the Bergen National Academy of the Arts, Norway.

Philip Samartzis: internationally acclaimed electro-acoustic maestro and teacher to many of Melbourne’s most successful sound artists through his work at RMIT. His current practice is dominated by the use of field recordings as source material for sonic works. www.philipsamartzis.com: “one of the leading lights of Australian experimental music” Rare Frequency 2006. www.microphonics.com

Marcia Jane is a video and film artist based in Melbourne, Australia. Marcia lectures in visual art at Swinburne University where she studied multimedia and film before going on to Media Arts at RMIT’s School of Art. Her current video work involves images of her personal spaces and environments, streets and spaces encountered every day. Intensive editing is a means to process and rethink this material: images are abstracted and structured in new graphic and rhythmic relationships. The effect is kinetic, prismatic, experiential. Marcia has performed live video in collaboration with Philip Samartzis at The NOW Now Festival 2008, exhibited generative video installations in her solo show Intercept at First Site Gallery 2007 and the collaborative show Cluster at VCA Gallery 2008. Her single-channel video works have screened at Australian Centre for the Moving Image Melbourne, Institute of Modern Art Brisbane and the Melbourne International Film Festival. http://www.permutations.net

Bruce Mowson: Bruce Mowson is a Melbourne based sound and video artist. He has conducted research into the phenomenon of absorption in audio-visual media though a series of exhibitions and performances and teaches at RMIT University. www.brucemowson.com

James Hullick is the Artistic Director for JOLT Arts Inc. www.jameshullick.com