(selected by Cecile Johnson Soliz)
Sound Lathe, 2005
'As an artist my practice closely resembles that of an amateur scientist locating and identifying behaviours and developing control structures [devices] within which certain unique, special events can exist. I construct assemblages as discrete environments that function as systems, [electrical, biological or chaotic]. They are created in order to sustain or nurture a particular event, for example, a vortex in a coffee cup, or the life of micro-organisms in a droplet of water.
These 'table-top' works assimilate phenomena which, being susceptible to change within themselves and the environment that directly surrounds them, require to be nurtured. As the artist, it is my task to attempt to create a system that can automate this service. I work with materials that are easily available to me, everyday objects and domestic substances, such as may be found in the kitchen or garden shed, 'pound' shops or supermarkets. These combine to generate incidental and universal phenomena, which are otherwise overlooked in daily life. The aim being, to re-present the mundane as complex mysterious, and profound.
Through presenting active processes within the assemblage, I am able to identify a problem, to which a solution may be sought; therefore the work is a continuous play on potential failure and possible solution, where failure can be as important as resolution. The works can have a performance element and are always accompanied by drawings, photographs and digital film, which are generated through the process of making, and become works in themselves.'
Antony Hall 2005
Throughout 2004, Manchester-based artist Antony Hall was Artist in Residence at the Fluids Department at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), working alongside scientists to tackle the theoretical issues of what science is, and how art and science can learn from each other. Hall's practice can be defined as a series of ongoing/interrelated studies, experiments and projects concerned with how we examine phenomena in the visual world.
Since finishing his MA in Art as Environment at MMU, Hall has worked on the CAPE UK/NESTA Creative Space project, implementing innovative models for teaching science in schools. In 2003, he completed a new media commission for the projection window and foyer at the Site Gallery in Sheffield. He has also recently completed the Hull Time Based Arts residency with his 'Owl Project'.
Hall is currently a Research Artist participating in 'Alchemy', a research project commissioned by the Manchester Museum. Based on the same models as academic programmes of study, 'Alchemy' will use aesthetic models of enquiry to ask and answer questions such as: Why do we collect? How do we make objects speak? What does the ordering of things reveal and conceal? What is the social, political, economic, and aesthetic role of the Museum in todays society? One of six Research Artists, Hall will use the Museum as a library, laboratory, archive, and exhibition space for two years.
Further information
Sound LatheOwl Project, in a continuation of their exploration into the sonic properties of woodwork, created rhythmical improvised music by converting the motion of a wood working contraption into amplified... read on
Fluids Lab ResidencyIn 2003 Hall began a residency at UMIST to investigate the parallels between art and science, through immersion in a scientific environment. During this project Hall was concerned with... read on
Coffee Cup OscillatorIn an attempt to generate wave forms at coffee cup scale, a series of containers of fluid like substances and powders [sugar solution/coffee etc.] were exposed to electromagnetic oscillation using... read on
Puddle VortexThe puddle vortex draws in fluid and air, and instantly re-circulates it back in to the puddle, so the puddle never disappears. Underneath the puddle is a vortex generating device. These puddle...
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