So recently I received an email saying that the visual artist I wanted to work with was okay to proceed, but instead of composing a soundscape to an already produced visual piece. I would be producing a soundscape and then the visual artist would be producing a video around my soundscape which is sort of a backwards technique to collaborating in sound and media.

 

I feel quite confident with this as it gives me complete creative control on a blank canvas where I can set the image and carve my own audible reality.

 

The artist I will be collaborating alongside is Cristiana Cott, she works in photography, cinematography and 2D animation. A lot of her work borders on the estrange and abstract forms of art, and I believe a lot of her inspiration comes from themes of violence, torture, sex and gore. She likes work that has an underlining message, and I think in this sense our idea’s and views on abstract art, sound and media with coincide quite nicely. Underneath is a screenshot from one of her pieces ‘Overlapping Memories’ which contains strong influences of gore, and themes of a deranged and some may say unstable nature.

 (Cristiana Cott – 2014 – ‘Overlapping Memories’)

 

I’m looking forward to working with her, as this will take a new approach to forming and composing forms of abstract media, basing a video on top of sound and music already composed. This will be as much of a challenge for her no doubt as it will be for me, as I’ve always been used to forming and creating audio on top of already finalised media works, such as animation and film. So this is a new concept where I’m painting the canvas with sound but need to do so with such passion that it can signify power and can inspire Cristiana and induce creativity.

 

What I want to do is base the soundscape from a conceptual point of view that is based of the concept of two contrasting sides of middle eastern culture, such as the religion, exotic landscapes, and playing on what’s unknown to us (if that makes sense) and also the devastation, terrorism and factors of fear and to promote these concepts.

I want the feel of the piece to be somewhat transformative, and evolve over the course, I plan to display audibly, some of Syria’s heritage as well as the modern warfare that we sometimes link it to today.