Tell us about the concept behindSound And Vision.
The concept we are working with is that of the traditional four-piece rock band and the ways its materials and relationships can be deconstructed and reworked in a contemporary art gallery context. We will present the gallery as a sort of acoustic chamber occupied by semi-autonomous instruments where the boundaries between onstage (performance) and rehearsal space (studio) as well as our individual contributions have all been blurred.
What brought this group of artists together? Had you worked together before?
This project was initiated by Ron and George Adams, directors of MOP. All of our individual art practices concern sound in some capacity, so they approached us to work together on this show.
What advantages and difficulties did you experience in putting the show together as a group?
The advantages would definitely be the pool of experience and knowledge the guys have brought to the project. We each have our own strengths and opinions, which has kept things rich and varied.As you would expect, because we are all accustomed to working individually on our solo practices, working together to achieve one outcome has been a challenge. Conceptually, it is similar to the challenges faced by four individual musicians when first forming a democratic band.
Just how important is the sense of sound to the human experience?
It is one of the five primary senses and as far as personal survival is concerned, may well be the most vital.As a fetus, I’m sure we would hear before the facilities of any other sense would become available. Hearing our mother’s heartbeat from the womb – this is where our love of rhythm comes from, I think.
The show will run during Art Month 2015. How central is this program to the strength of art in Sydney?
Art Month seeks to encourage new audiences to see contemporary art, which is great. I don’t think it’s central to the strength of art in Sydney but the growing numbers of people attending program events year upon year indicates that the local art scene is healthy, and that it and Art Month enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship.
See and hearSound And Vision atGalerie Pompom until Saturday March 28.
