'oddio'
Aine Belton
Sharon White
15th - 28th March 2010
‘oddio’ was collaborative project by recent IADT graduates Áine Belton and Sharon White.
The title of the project is a play on the word audio and also an appropriate term for the sound sculptures or musical instruments which the artists invented. The artists worked on site de-constructing and reconfiguring materials which were then utilised for their sound qualities. The aim of the project was to promote the every day and ordinary sounds which surround us in our environments, ranging from minimal to obtrusive. Within this, the artists discovered how a ‘noise’ can be appropriated to a higher plane of appreciation. It can be said that music exists because noise exists.
Every moment of our lives we are accompanied or subjected to sound in our environments. It is with practice that we manage to tune out these intrinsic quirks. In comparison to music, noise is seen as a negative, an unattractive intrusion. With noise one associates disorder, with music we have an inherent sense of order.
In an art context, the Dadaists and Futurists were first in experimenting with sound in their environments. It was with their embracement and appropriation of industrial noises that encouraged generations to explore noise music/sound art. In contemporary society the use of technology has allowed much advancement in the music industry. However, Belton and White are focusing on the raw qualities of sound from of ordinary everyday objects and found materials.
The artists investigated sound and musical composition, creating sculptural pieces which came together to perform a composition. Through this project, Belton and White addressed the idea of appropriating noise into sound. These experimental musical instrument/sculpture hybrids, while primitive in construction and aesthetic, can reveal the basic nature of a musical instrument.
Áine Belton has a background in video, sound, performance and photography. She is also a musician and plays many instruments including bass, drums and guitar which she has been playing since childhood. Sharon White’s practice encompasses drawing and sculpture, most recently she has been working with found objects. Sharon’s work often involves disassembling objects in order to reassign a function.
For further information please email oddioproject@gmail.com
ainebeltonoddio.blogspot.com
