Month: April 2023

Henke’s work truly fascinates me, and really encourages me to step out of my comfort zone when making sonic work.

His use of code and hardware design is mind-blowing, and whilst crafts such as coding appear extremely daunting to me, it makes me feel like maybe I could incorporate such a practice into my work. His DIY sound approach creates a mechanical backbone to his sonics, like machinery working underneath to power what is there at the top, except that said machinery isn’t purely underlying, something I never thought would sound as good as Henke makes it sound.

His use of location-specific work really speaks to me too, the idea of a piece of art only being able to become its true, most perfect form, in a specific space, and nowhere else is an idea I feel like intertwines with my work slightly. There’s a sweet arrogance to that tendency and Im all for it.

Combining club and contemporary culture within his work, Henke is able to convey the atmospheres of both worlds, using spatial/multi-channel techniques. A true pioneer.

In early 2020, Dutch multi-media artist Irma de Vries started Studio Irma.

Irma de Vries graduated from the Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam in the field of video and audio. During her studies she worked as an DJ in several clubs and festivals. After her graduation she worked for several famous artists and movie directors as an animator & video-editor. The last few years, she has worked as a solo artist and won several video-mapping awards, and her work was shown in different museums and light festivals. Contemporary Dutch artist Studio Irma creates digital immersive art exhibitions, spaces, artworks and experiences. With a devoted multi-disciplinary team, they combine augmented reality, videomapping, sculpture, computer animation, painting, and digital techniques to imagine the unforgettable.

Connectivism: ‘is a theoretical framework for understanding and learning in a digital age. It emphasizes how internet technologies such as web browsers, search engines, and social media contribute to new ways of learning and how we connect with eachother’. We take this definition offline and into our physical world. Through compassion and empathy, we build a shared understanding, in our collective choice to experience & interact with art. Our perception is a mix of thought and sight. and our mind has the power to influence – negatively or positively – what we see in the mirror. It is in this conscious decision to reflect, that we can and continue to grow. Studio Irma is a revolutionary dreamer who engages digital technologies to connect humanity. Through space, color, technology, movement, and YOU – the active participant, Studio Irma’s body of work reveals a more hopeful and connected future.

Witnessing these creations in such a revered professional context really inspired me. It is exactly the sort of thing I want to do, and to see someone execute similar creative tendencies so precisely was extremely encouraging.

Outside of an academic context, I have learnt that artistically, I want to be able to get to a position where I am allowed to do it my way, in my vision, and stay true to myself. I obviously realise that to make any sort of living, I may have to sacrifice my artistic morals occasionally, but I think by keeping the work unapologetically true to oneself is a good place to start.

this may prove difficult, and finding funding/grant opportunities that align with my artistic profile may be hard to come by, but you have to start somewhere. Furthermore, residency and grant placements with briefs or certain requirements will push me out of my comfort zone, and into different conceptual landscapes.