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16 Weeks

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16 Weeks --- 2018-06-06

"In 2018, Merck is celebrating its 350th anniversary. The theme of their celebration is “Always curious - Imagine the next 350 years.” This winter i took up their challenge and collaborated with 6 human beings in utero. Working with sonographer Rick Miles, i went about scanning the participants who ranged from 13 to 32 weeks gestation. This was followed by a process of sonifiying the data we collected, using the human movement to generate sound within a given set of parameters. Based on this material, I composed two pieces of music for an ensemble of classical musicians. This piece 16 weeks, is a very close arrangement of that sonified data and you can hear that the musical motifs don't repeat owing to the free movement of the unborn babies within the womb. The piece runs at 16 minutes and is based purely on the data generated by one foetus over the period of one scan. Ode to the future, also available on the portal, i took a much more abstracted approach to the data generated. Along with the compositions i wanted to visualise my process: (ultra) sound - picture - data - music - picture. i created a sound and light sculpture, an installation, one that can be performed, inspired by the ripple tanks of my school days. The first time i remember 'seeing' sound. The acrylic, glass and light sculpture, is filled with water, becoming an instrument for gestural waveform play."