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thembi soddell: sound artist / electroacoustic composer

INSTALLATION


ARTEFACT : 2009

A collaborative 6-channel installation by Camilla Hannan, Thembi Soddell and Tarab (Eamon Sprod), commissed by the Totally Huge New Music Festival in 2009. This installation used field recordings taken on an Australian tour to Adelaide, Alice Springs, Darwin and Perth. Each artist constructed 30-60 minutes worth of sound material from these field recordings. These compositions were then played on random through six-speakers scattered throughout the Tura Festival Hub. These sounds were accompanied by photographs and found junk also collected during the tour.

Click here for a review in Resonate Magazine written by Sam Gilles.

Click here to hear an onsite inteview with the artists by Julian Day from ABC's Classic FM, including recordings from the exhibition.


VACUUM #1 : 2008


Photograph of Eamon Sprod (left) and Camilla Hannan (right) taken from: http://www.camillahannan.com/installation/index.htm

Vacuum was a collaborative installation / extended performance conceived by Camilla Hannan and Eamon Sprod, who invited guest artists to contribute for shorter periods throughout the duration of the exhibition. This included: Anthea Caddy, Ryan Cockburn, Matt Davis, Carl Priestley and Thembi Soddell. It was held at WestSpace Gallery in Melbourn, July 2008, as part of the Liquid Architecture Sound Art Festival.

"The premise behind Vacuum#1 was to investigate new ways of presenting sound installation and performance. Over 4 days, Eamon and myself performed continually for seven hours each day. Guest artists were invited to contribute over that period for shorter durations. Speakers were hung at various points throughout the gallery and different materials were miced to create new 'instruments' or sound sources. Sound was dispersed through in the gallery through various means of amplification and also via acoustic performance." Text by Camilla Hannan, taken from http://www.camillahannan.com/installation/index.htm


Detail of 10.2-channel installation Thembi installed for one day in a small, dark corner of the gallery.


WINDOW : 2008


Photograph by Matt Chaumont

Window was exhibited at Blindside Gallery in Melbourne 2008 in a group sound exhibition, Tracts, curated by Ben Byrne for the Next Wave Festival. The catalogue information was as follows:

"At first I wondered why the room felt so safe. Then I realized it was because there were no windows." Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

Window is a small, black, nondescript box, which the audience must enter to experience. Pulling aside a curtain on one side of the box, one person at a time sits in its centre (in so much as they can fit), pulling the curtain back down so their head and body is enclosed in the pitch-black space. Sound becomes their only point of reference, filling the space from 10 hidden speakers (and 2 subwoofers) placed at varying heights and distances within the box, in a unique configuration for sound spatialisation. Through this, the listener becomes immersed in a sonic world that shifts from the real to the imagined via fragments of field recordings, electronics and abstracted sounds. This sonically sculpted space ranges in intensity, from dense washes of noise, to sounds on the threshold of perception, mimicking the manifestation of memory and emotion.

Window (stereomix) (2008) by Thembi Soddell

Materials: MDF, acrylic paint, adhesive, screws, foam, velcro, speakers, subwoofers, fabric, laptop, pine. Dimensions: 200cm x 100cm x 50cm


INTIMACY : 2003

A 4-channel installation of dynamically sculpted environmental recordings within a dark and claustrophobic space lined with red drapes. Part of 360 degrees: women in sound, curated by Arnya Tehira and Sianna Lee for Liquid Architecture 4, held at First Site Gallery, Melbourne. A stereo version of this composition has also been released on CD.

"Another standout was Thembi Soddell's Intimacy, using surround-sound speakers in a curtained-off space. For the gallery-goer sitting on the low stool within the pitch-dark enclosure, the effect of Soddell's layered, peak-and-trough waves of sound was absolutely cathartic." From Simon Sellars "Liquid Architecture: the Parmegiani experience" review in Real Time


EXTRACTION:REDUCTION:INVERSION : 2000

A solo audio-visual installation using a 4-channel 10-minute sound loop, multiple screen video, and six digital prints (shown above) to explore sexualisation through bodily perception.


THE SOUND OF YOUR NAME IS A SONG : 2000

An eight-channel collaborative sound installation. Each artist composed a track using each others voices and names as sonic source material - transcending the name's function as primarily a label. These tracks were played-back within a darkened gallery space to remove focus from the visual and enhance the listening experience. Artists involved: Sianna Lee, Bruce Mowson, Andie Reynolds, Thembi Soddell and Polly Stanton

Winner of the Melbourne Fringe Festival's Visual Arts Award.

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OTHER : 2000-2005


KVARNEN
Kvarnen is a sound grinding art toy featuring sound files from many Danish and international artists. KVARNEN uses a stochastic algorithm to load and play the sounds, so it will always sound different. You can further explore KVARNEN by changing most of the sound-grinding parameters. Or you can just lean back and enjoy the continuously sound-grinding....

http://www.ssshhhhh.dk/kvarnen/

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pelt 070905
Opening exhibition for pelt gallery, sydney, with Ben Byrne, Matt Earle, Fast Mountain Die, Anthony Guerra, Joyce Hinterding, Anthony Magen, William Noble, Jasper Streit and Alex White.

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Flicker, Rest and Replusion
Spatial, New Media Arts Space (Online), National Gallery of Australia, 2004

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Variable Resistance
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2002
Curated by Philip Samartzis, a survey of trends in current Australian sound art practice

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Liquid Lounge
Bus and First Site Galleries, Melbourne, 2002
Part of Liquid Architecture 3. Listening lounges showcasing a variety of sound works.

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Gating
West space Gallery, Melbourne, 2002
Curated by Michael Graeve, a group exhibition of sound and painting

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On Sonic Terrain
First Site Gallery Melbourne

A group interactive sound installation by ((tRansMIT)) members, recontextualising environmental recordings within the gallery space.

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page last updated: 31/12/11


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