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Fresh Winds Biennale 2016

Fresh Winds is an Art Biennale held in the small town of Gardur in Iceland, curated by the amazing Mireya Samper.

 

Simon Whetham was one of 50 international artists invited to participate in the festival from 15 December 2015 to 17 January 2016. During this time he constructed and composed a large-scale sound installation inside the town's working lighthouse and collaborated with a number of the other artists, presenting new performative works and creating sound design for video and performance projects.

'Ómur'

The focus of the initial stages of my participation in Fresh Winds 2016 was to create a piece in the working lighthouse of Gardur. I wished to explore vertical 'movement' of sound using a found object on each of the 5 floors which would in some way resonate with sound. My proposal was to create a piece for performance, but as the piece developed it was clear to me that an installation would be more suitable. Composing a piece for installation allowed me more time and consideration regarding the spaces within the lighthouse, how they responded to each other and how the sounds responded both in each space and in the whole lighthouse.

After tests with various found objects and materials, the chosen objects which would resonate with sound from Gardur were two large metal plates (chosen because they sounded like gongs), a metal waste bin (bell-like sound) and a large rectangular paint can (no immediate sonic potential, but from experience I knew this would respond well to low frequencies).

Lighthouse - site-specific performance in collaboration with Ishimoto Kae

I did create a piece for performance in the lighthouse, in collaboration with dance performer Ishimoto Kae from Japan. When I discovered she wished to create a performance using the whole lighthouse I suggested we create a piece together, using objects and sounds found in and created by the lighthouse and it's interior fittings.

After a number of sessions in which we experimented with many ideas, we devised a simple score for each floor using objects found on each. The audience would be required to be small as we wished to lead them from the top of the lighthouse to the bottom and out through the door.

Photography by Lucie Jean.

'Subduction' - site-specific performance in collaboration with Amanda Billberg

In discussing collaboration with Amanda Billberg, a performer from Sweden, she informed me of a strange cellar room under the nearby gym and swimming pool building. The way she described is sounded like the most unsuitable space to make a sound performance, but the more I thought about it, the more an idea hatched.

On visiting the room, my mind was set. I wished to work with Amanda to create a claustrophobic, dramatic piece using the sounds of the room. Water constantly runs and rushes through pipes in the ceiling and down the wall, a vent in the wall whines incessantly, weights and boxing training equipment features everywhere, small heaters with fans sit either side of the space to be used in heated yoga sessions.

Our performance closed the 4th day of exhibition events on 17th January 2016, with a much-larger-than-expected audience who were incredibly attentive and respectful.

Photos and video below by 정상수

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