In this archive are key examples of how my video and sound sketches can become helpful thinking tools, sonic walls, when developing ideas and imagining a space for my work.

Lamp Post 2013

Video loop projection in the photography studio at Iceland Academy of the Arts.

I originally wanted to take a picture of this lamppost and instead I created a short film by mistake.  It is a 'blip' video.  The matrix of videos built up, each grow in length until they reach the last video at the bottom right hand corner when the lamppost finally manages a proper attempt at standing upright.  There is an agitated grumble from all the lampposts in the matrix as neither of them can turn upright.  A simple video sketch exercise on creating building block thinking processes.

1song experiment

You are handed a glass with text instructing you to go one your phone and visit the web page www.1song.co.uk.  One song sung by me, divided into many parts and uploaded onto one web page.  Rather than being distracted by their phones, in this scenario the phone becomes an encouragement for everyone to take part.  It becomes a new song as the guests are given the role of the singer as each person downloads a track and plays it aloud.  In this exercise I am working with a gypsy folkloric song Ederlezi written by Goran Bregovi.  The lyrics in gypsy folk music dramatize everyday problems, lamenting over the chase of a loved one or the daily labour on the farm.  Problems that may seem small are beautifully enlarged with the singers', at times, melancholic wailing.  When observing how the very understanding of social activity has been so commodified this quality in the music is interesting to use to express a cry for an authentic gathering of people.    The concept of this exercise can be choreographed in many different ways across spaces so that the duration of the song's performance could be continuous.

Tivoli Gardens is a sound recording I made when living in the city of Copenhagen in Denmark.  It was a key location in the city for me when I began reflecting my feelings about the city.  I especially noticed its effect whenever I exited the central station after short trips to Sweden and passed by.  It was the one place in the city where you could hear wild screaming.  The screams from Tivoli were hard to catch from the outside of its walls but when the rides would come close to its walls for that brief second those excited screams would make me smile.  I found it hard to find great contrasts or varying 'extremes' in the city of Copenhagen.  Life on a daily basis felt stream lined and controlled, a steady tone is maintained there which I found difficult to respond to and Tivoli was a great analogy for this feeling I had about Copenhagen's atmosphere. 

Clap 2013

Two black and white Super-8 film loops projected at once onto TV screen.  Installation in situ with lobby space of cinema.  Shown as part of Home Movies Present, Bió Paradis, Reykjavík.

The individuals' hands were filmed separately and brought together in a montage of the Super-8 moving image for them to appear to 'clap' together as one when they manage to catch each other at random occasions as the loops continue to roll.  Learning more about the mechanical process of film making helped me to focus on combining process with subject matter.

Soundtrack for These are my knees everyone! 2014

The mobile phone ring tone has been a playful instrument to incorporate into my experiments.  The ring tone format is practically an 'alert' signal for people to talk to the person on the other end of the line, bringing people together.  At the same time, it can be counteractive as a method of communication by distracting people from wherever they are at the time when the mobile rings.  I enjoyed subverting its function and purely using it as a musical instrument and in this soundtrack I am singing in response to the ring tone, enjoying its tune and remaining in the space. 

(About These are my knees everyone!:  Inspired by photos of my knees at the beach, I designed an installation integrated into an open archway looking out onto a public square of Chelsea College of Arts. A popular space to relax, appreciated by students and members of the public.  Components: large format Correx board prints, remote controlled roller blinds with printed design and sound system playing sound recording on loop with a 20 min silence break between each repeat.  Part of Chelsea College of Arts' Undergraduate Show, London).