Simon Whetham & Hugo OlimMic.Madeira
CrĂłnica 063~2011 DVD
Release date: 9 February 2012
Tracklist
- Mic.Madeira (5.1 version)
- Mic.Madeira (Stereo version)
- Field Recordings @ Madeira Island
Simon Whetham and Hugo Olim were teamed up by Rafael Biscoito, the artistic director of the 2010 MADEIRADIG festival, for the creation of an audiovisual performance.
Madeira’s native Hugo Olim has been performing live visuals in collaborations with various musicians (Vitor Joaquim, Nuno Rebelo, Jerome Faria, João Ricardo, etc.). Bristol’s Simon Whetham creates sound compositions from field recordings, having thus far produced a series of releases through several international labels.
For this performance, Whetham created a multi-channel audio composition from field recordings captured across the island of Madeira, traveling various routes with Olim, exploring many locations that seemed promising or that were simply found along the way. Using various microphones and hydrophones, many sonic aspects of the island were captured. These were then edited and examined during the preparation of the piece.
Olim’s performance was created from the usage of a microscope fitted with a digital camera, with which he magnified various substances and objects, all from Madeira. This signal was then fed through various subtle visual effects that reacted to certain frequencies in the audio composition. This piece’s title thus refers to the main tools used in the exploration of Madeira’s landscape, microphones by Whetham and microscope by Olim
This DVD presents a specially-revised version of the performance, in 16:9 video with 5.1 Surround and Stereo soundtracks. A video documentary of the field work in the island is included as an extra.
Hugo Olim was born in the island of Madeira, Portugal. He works in the field of visual arts, with a focus on the mediums of video and photography. The aim of his practice is to explore the diverse nature of imagery and its relationship with sound, time, space and technology. He is currently a teacher in the Art and Design department at the University of Madeira.
Simon Whetham has developed a characteristic practice of working with sound recordings as raw materials for composition and performance. These are often environmental sounds he has captured employing a variety of methods and techniques, in order to reveal discreet or obscured sonic phenomena. When presenting work in a performance or installation, for him the space and the objects within become instruments to be played.
Simon has a large number of works published through many specialist organisations, including Helen Scarsdale Agency, Crónica, Line and Dragon's Eye; has performed extensively internationally; collaborated with artists from musicians to performance artists, painters to video artists, dancers to poets; has run listening and field recording workshops in UK, Estonia, Czech Republic, Colombia, Chile, Australia and South Korea; and received a large number of commissions and awards for projects and installations – notably for his own project 'Active Crossover'.
Supported by the Arts Council England and PRS for Music Foundation, the project combines sound installation, performance, collaboration and workshops. 'Active Crossover' toured six cities in the UK and has been hosted in Estonia, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Australia, Germany and Norway.
Most recently the project ran as a two-month collaborative residency, supported by Arts Council England and the British Council, hosted by MoKS in Estonia, with participating artists from UK, Estonia, Latvia, Korea, Australia, USA, Austria, Finland, Norway and Chile.
As a further development of Simon's practice, he gives workshops sessions for groups of children and young people. This began with the participation in the arts education project RED Artes Visuales de MedellĂn in Colombia, where he ran workshop sessions for youths, exploring listening exercises, recording techniques, microphone construction, public intervention, and instrument and kinetic sculpture building. This has led to workshop sessions with children in Norway, Australia and South Korea and with unaccompanied minors in a refugee camp in Munich, Germany.
Credits
A joint release with MADEIRADIG festival.
