Artist Statement
I am an Essex-based digital artist working at the intersection of video art, responsive sound design and interaction experimentation.
Originally an electroacoustic musician and composer, I have worked in the fields of interaction design/development, media and creative technologies for many years.
I now seek to create art work that is public, participatory and playful.
Public in that my work is open in format, placement and location. The ideal location being a well-used public space. I’m all for taking art out of the gallery.
Participatory in that my work is interactive with minimal barriers to engagement. Physical impairment or old age, for example, should certainly not be barriers to engagement.
Playful in that through the aesthetics and mechanics of interaction, emergent forms of individual and social playfulness might be provoked. Through playfulness social norms are more easily broken, albeit temporarily, in a safe way. Participants may enter a ‘magic circle’ (Huizinga, 1955) of their own making. These are phenomena that truly fascinate me and spur me on to produce game-like art works.
CV & Education
Education
- MA (Distinction) Moving Image and Sound, Norwich University of the Arts (2013)
- BA (Hons) Performing Arts Management, Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (1998)
Relevant Employment
- Digital Artist, Self-employed (2013 onward)
- Director of Creative Technology, Digital Surface (2009 - 2013)
- Senior Consultant, Brightcove (2008 – 2009)
- Head of Interactive Design, Amaze Europe, (2002 – 2008)
- Interactive Designer/Developer, Self-employed (1999 - 2002)
- Production Manager, Dublin Blues Festival (1998)
Creative Achievements & Awards
- Commissioned by the Black Country Living Museum to create a digital art intervention to be exhibited December 2016
- Commissioned by the Harlow Art Trust to undertake a 'virtual residency' at the The Gibberd Gallery, Harlow, culminating in an online interactive art work to launch in November 2016
- Portals for Mortals, commissioned by Peterborough Presents, temporary interactive art takeover of sculpture 'untitled' by Miles Davies (Thorpe Meadows, Peterborough, August 2016)
- Sound Sculpture R&D, investigating the temporary sonification of structure (bank of the River Colne, Colchester, February 2016)
- Interactive visuals for dance theatre piece Hi Siri, by Lydia Fraser-Ward, shown as part of Women of Mass Destruction 3 (Rich Mix, Bethnal Green, December 2015)
- NetPark ‘Talking Trees’ – commission awarded by Metal to develop an augmented reality artwork (exhibited Chalkwell Park, Southend, October - December 2015)
- Play Table iii - art game (FACT, Liverpool, August 2015)
- Play Table ii - art game (The Minories Galleries, Colchester, July 2015)
- Play Table i - art game (Volunteering Matters, Ipswich Old Courthouse, June 2015)
- Arts Council of England award in support of development of ‘play table’ project (April – August 2015)
- NetPark – commission awarded by Metal Culture to develop an augmented reality artwork (to be exhibited at Chalkwell Park, Southend, September 2015)
- Visiting Lecturer to Norwich University of the Arts Moving Image and Sound MA (Norwich, April 2015)
- Journey Words – dual screen interactive text installation using body as interface, product of a 6 month public arts commission awarded by Place Services and Essex Network of Artist Studios (Pier Hotel, Harwich, April 2015)
- Data Flow – interactive installation using body as interface (FACT, Liverpool, November 2014 – February 2015)
- Choros – interactive 3 Kinect, 3 screen, 8 speaker ambisonic audiovisual installation devised in collaboration with Stefan Kazassoglou during week long artist residency at the Syndrome project (24 Kitchen St Liverpool, August 2014)
- Luminescence – interactive installation exploring inter-personal energy (firstsite, April 2014)
- Electricus – interactive installation using the body as interface (Ipswich Town Hall, February 2014)
- Essex County Council award in support of artist development (February 2014)
- Arts Council of England award in support of artist development (January 2014)
- Spark Shower – interactive, single-screen installation using the body as interface (Colchester Slack Space, December 2013)
- Artist in Residence at Metal Liverpool Culture LAB (November 2013)
- Mirror Noise – interactive, multi-screen installation using the body as interface (Norwich Forum, June 2013)
- Zeitspiel – experimental film featuring real time temporal phenomena (January 2013)
- Noisescapes – single screen film shown at firstsite, Colchester, as part of Drawing Alive: Films with Drawing (October 2012)
