Sound Matters- where sound becomes art
24 January – 8 March 2014
Solent Showcase, Sir James Matthews Building, Above Bar, Southampton SO14 7NN
Merging noise, volume and craft, Sound Matters is a harmonious collection of makers and sound artists showcasing work at Southampton Solent University’s Showcase Gallery this spring.
A Crafts Council touring exhibition, Sound Matters offers a new and multi-sensory experience of craft. With works of varying scale and volume, each work demands to be heard as well as seen.
Several contemporary artworks have been chosen for their innovative engagement with craft practice and sound art, expressing the idea that sound has a physical presence. This ranges from reinventing traditional craft heritage such as weaving and woodturning to create unique sound forms, or experimenting with new technologies to reveal the true ‘sound’ of materials.
Working with wood and electronics, Owl Project combine both digital and traditional techniques to create music-making machines. Drawing on influences such as 1970s synthesiser culture and DIY woodwork, they produce a distinctive range of musical instruments.
Sound artist Max Eastley’s ‘Landscape’ uses an embedded motor and magnets to move metal fragments across a canvas surface to create a subtle sound landscape. Cathy Lane’s ‘Tweed’ features voices and sounds from two weaver’s studios in the Outer Hebrides to create an evocative recording of industry, craft, heritage and personal knowledge and experience.
The exhibition features several new commissions: Sound artist Scanner and weaver Ismini Samanidou’s collaboration resulted in two ‘Weave Waves’ textile pieces; representing a visual recording of the artists’ breathing and a soundscape of Manchester and London, both demonstrating the common binary language used for digital sound recordings and textile production.
Dominic Wilcox and Yuri Suzuki’s ‘Sounds of Making in East London’ documents the sounds of 21 skilled makers at work, whilst Studio Weave’s ‘Polyphony’ is a spun aluminium ‘ear’ which separates, abstracts and re-organises external sounds via a sphere of funnels in which the visitor stands.
Admission is free, The gallery space is open Monday – Friday 11–6pm and Saturday 11–5pm. For access, please use city centre car parks.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT THE MEDIA OFFICE ON 023 8031 9642 or email events@solent.ac.uk
Notes to editors:
About Southampton Solent University
Southampton Solent University offers more than 23,000 students over 200 qualifications ranging from HND to PhD, in subjects such as maritime education and training, fashion and design, media and television, music, health, sport and leisure, business, IT and technology. The university was awarded the 2013 Quality Assurance kitemark for quality and standards of teaching and learning. Solent was voted one of the most creative universities in the UK in a Which? University 2013 poll of students.
About Solent Showcase
Solent Showcase's opening hours: Monday – Friday 11–6pm, Saturday 11–5pm. Admission free
Solent Showcase Gallery is a public gallery located within Southampton Solent University and is a key factor in Southampton’s emergent Cultural Quarter: www.solent.ac.uk/showcase
Tags:
