The exhibition will comprise of an installation of the work "Wave-Wall III" by Charlie Hooker. This work is in the Arts Council of England collection and was last installed at the Royal Festival Hall, London. The work brings together in one piece, sound, movement and graphic representation. Also included in the exhibition will be new works by Hooker, which he is currently developing as part of his collaborative research within the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading.
"Wave-Wall III" features three giant pendulums, reaching from floor to ceiling, each of which have radio-cassette players as weights. Images overlaid onto the wall and windows of the gallery act as a graphic representations of the specially composed music being played continually through each cassette player, turning the gallery into a ‘sound-chamber’. This music, which rises and falls in a similar fashion to the continuous motion of the pendulums, was derived from sound-samples of a variety of natural and man-made waveforms recorded and reprocessed by Hooker.
The exhibition is in two sections:
The generic title of the work in the South Gallery ‘RUB-A-DUB’, represents first stage in a project to generate a series of artworks based upon Hooker’s current meteorological research at Reading. It features sculptures, prints, maquettes and audioworks derived from data linked to current scientific thinking concerning chaotic systems, unpredictability and natural phenomena.
The blue Cyanotype musical notation prints are derived from star maps which have been converted to sound using digital MIDI audio software. (Cyanotype prints are produced by coating paper with two natural salts, exposing them through a negative to sunlight and washing the paper in water to reveal the blue and white print.) The notation for ‘TWINS’ is based on sunshine recorder graphs, burned by the sun at Churchill Square during the year prior to the installation of the sculpture at Churchill Square, Brighton. The other audio works involve the use of transducers – audio devices which convert flat surfaces such as the glass and bronze panels used in ‘CLOUD’ and ‘SPLASH’ into resonators, similar to loudspeakers. The new version of SENSITIVE DEPENDENCE (on initial conditions) was first installed as part of the Contemporary Arts Society programme at the Economist Plaza,
London.
Earlier versions of the second part of the exhibition, WAVE-WALL III (Arts Council Collection), were originally shown at the James Hockey Gallery, Farnham and Royal Festival Hall, London. The installation features three giant pendulums, reaching from floor to ceiling, each of which have radio-cassette players as weights. The continuous audio cycle that the work generates commences with ‘live’ radio broadcasts tuned to the BBC World Service.
Images overlaid onto the windows of the gallery act as graphic representations of the specially-composed music being played continually through each cassette player, turning the gallery into a ‘sound-chamber’. This music, which rises and falls in a similar fashion to the continuous motion of the pendulums, was derived from sound-samples of a variety of natural and man-made waveforms recorded and reprocessed by Hooker.
The historic meteorological instruments have been kindly loaned by the University of Reading, and the North Atlantic Oscillation prints and musical notation have been researched in collaboration with Dr David Stephenson from the Department of Meteorology. (To hear this music, visit www.met.rdg.ac.uk/cag/NAO/Art/ .) Other members of this department who have significantly contributed to Hooker`s research are Dr Maarten Ambaum, Dr Janet Barlow, Dr Giles Harrison, Dr David Marshall.
The exhibition and on-going research have been greatly assisted by Prof. Stephen Buckley (University of Reading) and Prof. Jonathan Woodham and Principal Research Fellow, Barry Barker (University of Brighton).
Linked to RUB-A-DUB/WAVE-WALL III is a panel discussion – ‘Cloud Dynamics:Perspectives from Art and Science`. This will involve a number of speakers, all of whom are experts in particular fields of cloud activity, including: Dr Maarten Ambaum and Dr Giles Harrison - the scientific collection of data concerning weather patterns; Dr John Thornes - the history of cloud paintings; Prof. Michael O`Shea - research into ‘diffusion’ - the clouds of gas that connect brain nerve cells. Further information on this discussion, which will take place at the Sussex Arts Club, Ship Street, Brighton on Tues 25 May at 7.30pm, can be obtained from ‘Blip’ at www.blip.me.uk. (Admission is FREE, but by ticket only. These can be obtained through the Blip website.)
12 May 2004, opening ceremony and private view at 6pm (open 6 - 8pm)
