Necessity Collection – Visualising sound
Necessity Collection was born from a legacy of self-exploratory work. It draws inspiration from the technical precision of information design and data visualisation yet extends into a body of work that shares similarities with Conceptual Art, Process Art, and Quantified-Self movement. Overall, it embodies a continuity of themes that have been implicitly and explicitly explored over years of artistic production.
The collection consists of a limited edition of eight large-scale, audio-visual, data-driven, each individually signed and numbered. The idea for the collection arose from my research on the transmutation of sound to sight.
The Necessity Collection is an extensive visualisation of the connection between sound and two-dimensional form, utilising only sonic material that consistently begins and ends with myself, sometimes including one other person or ambient sounds from the environment or biometric data. For example, the raw sound material may include recorded breathing sounds from a night's sleep or a walk across a landscape.
Two pieces from the collection have been acquired by C3 Residency in Mexico City and are now part of its permanent collection.
‘Victoria (night)’ and ‘Victoria (dawn)’ have been acquired by C3 Residency in Mexico City and are now part of its permanent collection.
The creative process
The creative process begins naturally as a way to regain control over compulsive thought patterns. This involves collecting data through writing, sound recording, or other means on a regular basis - usually daily, sometimes over many months - to create an index of data, something I have been doing since I was a child. The data is linked to personal metrics, either physical (such as breathing patterns) or social (measurable interactions), and connects to Conceptual and Process Art.
The process of gathering is systematic and meticulous, rooted in my career as an information designer and data artist. This precise, methodical approach contrasts with the fluid act of graphic translation. The data collected is visualised through a free-flowing, unrestricted process, breaking away from the strict organisation of data collection to occupy a space that intuitively explores self-awareness.
Victoria
Data visualisation of 2:45 minutes of birdsong recorded in Victoria Park, London.
Victoria visualises a walk in London’s Victoria Park, taken on a sunny day amidst the sound of human activity, birdsong and other sounds becoming part of the white noise characteristic of an outdoor stroll.
This soundscape converted into the pilot piece for the Necessity Collection, its formal characteristics referencing the section of a tree and its concentric circles.
Morpheús
Data visualisation of 6 hours, 46 minutes from one night’s sleep.
When a few years ago I stopped sleeping well I started to record ambient noises during my sleep to understand if my insomnia was driven by external noises. So, recording breath as an investigation into the patterns of a restless sleeper, Morpheus chronicles the sounds and rhythms of inhaling and exhaling over the duration of one night’s sleep. This becomes a sample for understanding habitual sleeping patterns — the broken circle representing broken sleep — questioning whether external noises trigger a moment of waking or whether it is merely the provocation of the unconscious mind.
The artwork is currently on display and available for sale (framed) at Einraum Berlin. Unframed prints are available on my online store.
The Photograph We Never Took
Data visualization of two audio files recorded separately.
This work follows my father's death in 2019 and contemplates our relationship and the loss of our favourite photograph.
Retracing this lost photograph prompted me to enlist voice recordings to recreate the image of the bond between us. The sound forms of the two voices join together as two uniting circles, replacing the missing photograph.
This artwork has been featured in: Nightingale Magazine issue 2, Page Magazine, Design Matters Copenhagen, Beyond Tellerand Berlin, and part of the group show “Exploring Grief And Loss”, Willesden Gallery London (UK).
Stay There
Data visualisation of 8:27 minutes recording of intimate moments.
Capturing the swaying breath of a couple enraptured by their intimacy, Stay There is the only work within the Necessity Collection that includes two identical circles. Representing the proximity of two lovers, the rings do not signify two separate waveforms but embody the physicality of two bodies and sets of breathing. Blurred frequencies emblematise their intertwining, sensual motion, heightened by the deep red colour that stains the canvas with inferred passion.
The artwork is currently on display and available for sale (framed) at Einraum Berlin. Unframed prints are available on my online store.
