FAM+23 UWA FINE ARTS + ELECTRONIC MUSIC & SOUND DESIGN GRADUATE EXHIBITION
FAM+23 UWA FINE ARTS + ELECTRONIC MUSIC & SOUND DESIGN GRADUATE EXHIBITION
Cullity Gallery | First Floor Studios and Gallery | Fine Arts Building | ALVA Hub
Front and back cover image: Makaela Rowe-Fox, Familiar #1, 2023, photographic print, 51 x 76cm Opposite: Esther Forest, The Pet Shop, 2023, stop motion film, diorama, mixed media. Exhibition supported by Janet Holmes à Court AC.
Foreword.
The FAM+23 exhibition celebrates the achievements of students completing majors in Fine Arts, and Electronic Music and Sound Design, plus Honours in these disciplines. It also features work of research students from the Master of Fine Arts, Master of Biological Arts, and PhD in Fine Arts. Display and performance of work is a key feature of the graduating experience from these courses – curating, planning, anticipating the audience’s visual, auditory, haptic, and spatial relationship with the pieces. This semester students have examined themes that speak to us at individual and societal levels: from exposing the apparently neutral platform of AI, to reminding us that art is almost always at once material, technological and emotive. The making and experience of art brings hope and
reassurance – never more important than in this moment of national and global upheaval. Congratulations to all the students featured in this exhibition: we wish them every success for creative and fulfilling futures developing practices, careers, and lives around art and music. Our gratitude extends to the dedicated group of staff who have mentored, inspired and supported. And special thanks to Sarah Douglas, Reegan Jackson and the wider team who have curated and coordinated the exhibition and event. Dr Kate Hislop Dean/Head of School of Design
The annual showcase for our Electronic Music and Sound Design students has become a highlight of the year. The inventiveness and creativity presented – under the guidance of an exceptional and active teaching staff – makes for a surprising and delightful evening. Presented alongside our colleagues in Fine Arts, this event demonstrates part of the breadth of the human imagination. The ability to respond to the environment in which we live allows us to make sense of the world in a profound way. The work of these artists – working in both the real and virtual world – remind us of the human condition. They challenge us, delight
us, and occasionally confront us, but they always make us think. This event is the culmination of the work of our students, but also so many people behind the scenes. To all who have made a contribution to this show – and it’s antecedents – I offer great appreciation. I salute the artists whose work appears here, and look forward to seeing the fruits of their labour in the months and years to come. Professor Alan Lourens Head of the Conservatorium of Music
Fine Arts Major, Honours, Masters and PhD
A new generation of artists is emerging…
A new generation of artists is emerging, and their collective voice resonates with a dynamic, crossdisciplinary approach. The graduates presented in this exhibition exemplify a diverse and open-minded artistic ethos, where ideas, processes, technologies, materials, mediums, and meaning converge to push the boundaries of creative expression. At the heart of their creative development lies a spirit of collaboration and open discussion. These students have embraced the synergy between their diverse artistic practices, backgrounds, and cross-disciplinary interests. They have collectively
navigated a universe of ideas, sharing insights, provoking dialogues, and catalysing intellectual exchange. This collaborative approach not only enriches their artistic process but also exemplifies an inclusive intent in which the convergence of ideas ignites transformative change. Contemporary art holds a distinct and vital place in society as a barometer of our collective consciousness. It challenges, provokes, comforts, and inspires. It fosters empathy, understanding, and introspection. A contemporary arts education equips emerging
artists with the tools and mindset to engage with the world meaningfully, taking into account the complex multiplicity that define our times. The students represented in FAM+23 offer works that challenge us to view the world through diverse lenses, to grapple with the complexities of the present. The range of artworks offer a multifaceted exploration of the human and non-human experience, from the deeply personal to the globally relevant, and posits the potential of art in shaping a more interconnected, inclusive, and enriched world, even in times of conflict and division.
Congratulations are due to the represented students for their integrity, curiosity, and willingness to take risks. We extend our gratitude to them for providing us with insights and experiences that will undoubtedly extend far beyond the confines of the School of Design. Sarah Douglas Advanced Major Project Coordinator
Previous page: Beston Kai Yee Lee, Masked, 2023, SLA 3D printed sculptures, computer vision technology, 3D animation, mixed media.
LEYLA ALLERTON Fine Arts (Honours) florrie & friends (Quilted paintings)
Oil paint and acrylic on canvas, digital prints on fabric, screen prints on fabric
bless my cotton socks (Textile poems)
Digitally printed cotton and polyester fabrics
he was a collector of information (Digital catalogue) Single channel video @leylaallerton In archiving our personal and collective memory, can we ever be sure that we are preserving our oral histories and other unique artefacts faithfully? Transcription is the standard method to preserve oral histories, but the idiosyncrasies of a person’s speech will inevitably be lost in translation. The artist has responded to the oral history recordings found within her family archives by creating quilted paintings and hanging textile works, exploring the potential for more creative methods of transcription. On a screen, digital representations of physical artefacts are accompanied by illogical descriptions, further questioning the authority of the traditional archive.
SASHANA ANANDARAJAH Fine Arts, History of Art, Curatorial Studies (minor) Sacred Symmetries
Various yarn, various fabrics, acrylic paint, gold leaf, thread
Using fingers dipped in rice flour to gently form intricate designs, each day begins as a joyous blessing. With a red dot adorning the forehead, her home and body become one. Sacred Symmetries echoes womens’ daily lives in South India. The pottu and kolam are two practises steeped in spiritual meaning, serving as symbols of fertility, auspiciousness, and ritual purity. As a tactile counterpart to the traditional, deliberate process, hand-making repetitive patterns are continually embraced. Viewers are invited to feel their way around the space and meditate on the cyclical nature of life and their representation within the broader community.
TAHLIA ARNISON Fine Arts The Escape
Oil pastel, pencils, coloured ink and randomly generated Dungeons and Dragons character sheets sites.google.com/view/arnisons-art/what/about
Life is stressful. The Escape, provides a space away from reality where one steps into the mystical realm of Dungeons and Dragons. This collaborative piece displays a tapestry of interconnected relationships forged through the tabletop roleplaying game. Players breathe randomly generated characters to life, providing personality and form to their uniquely created avatars. Throughout the game, players adapt and evolve each other’s characters providing their own unique spin and nurturing the ever-changing narrative. The Escape, comprises over 50 carefully crafted character-sheets with finely drawn images, handcrafted notes, and untold stories. You are invited to escape into a world of monsters and mythical creatures and leave your “other worldly” demands behind.
NILMI ANURADHA CHANDRASIRI Fine Arts Watching Hour
Colour pencils, acrylic paint, children’s toys, found objects, mixed media, motion sensors, LED lights nilmianuradha.com
Watching Hour immerses viewers in the inescapable gaze of surveillance, exploring the anxiety of the unknown observer. The installation, featuring watchful eyes in a space reminiscent of a child’s room, delves into the juxtaposition of innocence and intrigue. It evokes the uncertainties of an omnipresent watcher, inviting contemplation on the boundaries of privacy. The thematic undercurrent of obsession weaves a narrative of relentless inquiry, urging viewers to confront the elusive truths in our surveilled existence. The unsettling allure of the unknown transforms the familiar into an eerie landscape, leaving the audience to grapple with the haunting ambiguity of the observed and the observer.
JANICE CHENG Mathematics and Statistics, Fine Arts Dinner Party At My House VR installation
Collaborators: Ben Woods sites.google.com/view/jchengart/home
Dinner Party At My House is an exploration into liminal spaces by creating an unreal space within the virtual world. Within the VR headset is a non-Euclidean house forcing the user into specific roles, playing out a dinner party, yet at every turn the user is met with hostility and unreality unsettling the audience in a traditionally familiar and comfortable space. Inspired by the texts of Marc Auge and Arnold van Gennep, Dinner Party At My House addresses the increasingly inorganic way that our society is assembled and thus treats its inhabitants.
CAIT DOWLEY Fine Arts, Botany Diametric II
Limestone, wood ash, mallee roots, cicada shells, film documentation of circular walking @caitdowley.art caitdowley.com
Life and death are inextricably connected to one another: there cannot be life without death, nor death without life. This work is a multi-media exploration into the interconnections between these two seemingly opposing states of existence and non-existence. There must first exist a life in order for it to be ended in death, and indeed there cannot be new life without death first; they are both held within the same cyclical system. The endless motion of life and death in conjunction with one another is reflected upon through materiality, process, and symbolism.
LYNN DUNNET Fine Arts Sproutness
Neighbourhood doormats, BFK Rives paper 300gsm, Arches watercolour paper 300gsm, porcelain, glass sites.google.com/view/lynnsartf/about-lynn
Mindful of myceliationships Move gentle intention into a magic circle Sharing the harvest and the housework There is mushroom for renovation Pay it forward to future homeowners Living insporation Patterns of beautiful energy
JASMINE FERGUSON Masters of Biological Arts Reciprocal Ecologies
Mixed Media: Flax plant specimens, test tubes, agar, petri dishes, copper rod @jasminelou_art
Reciprocal Ecologies is an interdisciplinary research project and biological art installation featuring a series of tissue cultured flax plant specimens. The work is framed around exploration of in vitro plant tissue culture, its positioning as a reflection of interspecies interactions and impacts in our biotechnological present. Re-designing nature, denaturing plants through controlled artificial environments, the plant specimens exist in a state that is seemingly infinitely modifiable but also infinitely fragile. How does this relate to our relationships with plants? How have humans, like the plant specimens, been severed and sterilised from the wild?
ESTHER FOREST Fine Arts (Honours) The Pet Shop
Stop motion film, diorama, mixed media Collaborators: Maxine Wild, flerpy, dyst @estherwforest @maxinewildmusic
Louise, the shop assistant in The Pet Shop, navigates her daily tasks and interactions whilst living with schizotypal personality disorder. Alongside her is Rat, a curious spider-rabbit entity. Guided by directives from an omnipresent computer terminal called “Store Manager,” Louise manages a shop where real and virtual pets coexist. The story extends into the physical space with a diorama, affirming The Pet Shop’s existence in reality.
ALEX FOSTER Masters of Fine Arts INTERSECT
Water-based pigments, spray-paint, plaster
FRACTURE
Water-based pigments, spray-paint, plaster
Through the application of traditional, Italian Renaissance fresco painting techniques, Foster creates luminous, soft sectional paintings that are inter-layered with the bold aerosol colours of street-art surfaces. The layers are lifted to reveal and symbolise an interaction that has evolved from wall-based mark making through history. An impression, an interconnection created by the figures that interact beyond the layers, beyond time. A collision of two eras of the wall: hard plaster and light, watery tones meet chromatic spray-paint strikes, unified on one wall - Icons and imagery calling to the viewer, whispering the coloured tales of the painted eras past and present.
LUCY HANCOCK Fine Arts, Anthropology and Sociology Interdependencies: Copper I
Fabriano Rosapina paper, cartridge paper, charcoal, soft pastel, conte crayon
Interdependencies: Copper II
Copper wire, palm bracts, palm seeds, copper sheet, copper pipe Collaborators: Garden flora and fauna, spiders @e.luce.idate lucyhancock.net Webs of interdependence are often hidden from sight, requiring a shift in view. When our viewpoint alters, new connections are seen, and our outlook adjusts and expands. Within a time of Anthropogenic change and climate emergency, that happens in patches, it has become vital that humans understand the significance of interdependency and adjust our view to include a more-than-human world. Copper is a symbol of manmade connective systems and central to the Interdependencies series. Via drawing, sculpture, and collaboration with nonhumans, contemplation of interdependencies and connections are created fostering a shift in view, one that reverberates beyond the gallery walls.
ZAN HUSSAIN Fine Arts, Marketing, Curatorial Studies (minor) Kandu mathin (over the ocean) Digital mixed medium @zanwhooo
Kandu mathin is an art piece that delves into the landscapes of Maldivian mythologies, contrasting the oceans to the landscapes within the stories. These landscapes are not just a place, they have narratives intertwined in them; passed down through generations of storytelling. The scenes have been crafted to transport the viewers into an ethereal realm. My work seeks to evoke a sense of awe and wonder within the viewer about the origins of these stories. Connecting the past and present, my art aims to bridge the collective imagination, provoking a sense of diverse cultural heritage and stories from childhood.
RICHARD JORDAN Fine Arts Sculptures Inspired by the Human Neural Network
Clay, wire, nail polish, over time in black and white, video of sculpture with Tesla coil @spanishmakerel
Exploring the Human Neural Network with clay and other materials has become an obsessive pleasure. Integrating them with sound, video, one denucleated bovine eyeball, plus the sights, sounds and smells of high voltage electronics; has effectively combined my interests of psychology, audio engineering and electronics into one constructive flow of ideas. Neurons and their vulnerable, soft, hurtable nature are presented within the pressurised captivity of metal hands and entangled in the electrified cable of technological alienation. What may emerge from the Human Neural Network over time is unclear, but it can be fun to creep yourself out thinking about it.
GRACE HYEON AH KANG Fine Arts Echoes to ‘04
Mixed Media, animation @ghyeo._a
Echoes to ‘04 is a 2-minute, 28-second poetic journey, featuring snippets from my first Australian vacation in 2004. This film serves as a reflection on the passage of time and selfdiscovery. Through a blend of moving images and narratives, it bridges my past dialogues with the present, encapsulating three key moments: nostalgia, the enchantment of nature, and the bonds of family. It also delves into sensory encounters that shaped my childhood perspective. Silhouette-like figures emerge as shadows of memories, creating a static effect that evokes the recollection of time, and inviting viewers to join this introspective and emotive journey.
BESTON KAI YEE LEE Fine Arts, Computer Science Masked
SLA 3D printed sculptures, computer vision technology, 3D animation, mixed media @beston_arts beston.one
Every step we take, every conversation we have, and every trace we leave behind becomes entangled within the intricate web of monitoring. Yet, did we question its implications, or have we accepted it as an inescapable truth? Through a range of mixed mediums utilizing computer vision technology, Masked aims to challenge the discomfort of living under watchful eyes, raising awareness of the often-overlooked concept of ‘sousveillance’ where it shifts the narrative from traditional surveillance by authoritative figures to the pervasive role of ordinary individuals intruding upon one another’s lives. The observers, embodied as masks, serve as tools to obscure and protect, commenting on the erosion of privacy and autonomy in our interconnected world.
GRAHAM MILLS Fine Arts A Journey displayed on Prisms
Acrylic paint, oil paint, perspex, canvas grahammills.weebly.com
Journey is an interpretation and exploration a single autobiographical image relating to periods, places and family members in my life. Periods and place are connected by waterways; the Great Lakes in the USA, West Lakes in Adelaide and the Swan River in Perth. The 3 sides of a prism provide an opportunity to develop a narrative by capturing 3 periods, 3 places and 3 groups of family members. I adopt an unplanned method based on experimentation and reaction to the paint. The viewer of the works may relate the artworks to periods, places and people in their own life.
SERGIO SANTIAGO RENTERÍA AGUILAR PhD Fine Arts/Conservatorium of Music Spectral (De)compositions: Dadamining Datamining Sound installation
Collaborators: Western Magpie Research Project (UWA) www.renterialab.com
Through interdisciplinary collaboration across digital arts, computer science and animal communication, Santiago has devised a series of sonic experiments exposing the aesthetics of machine listening. As a computational regime, the latter manifests as data-driven algorithmic filters and automated sound event detection techniques that enable datamining soundscapes. By collaging the fragments of animal sound archives, his sound work reflects on the residual sonicity of earless listening: what due to scale can no longer be listened to by ears. In the process, ubiquitous sounds are strangled to foreground a dadamining logic of algorithmic filtering.
MAKAELA ROWE-FOX Fine Arts, English and Literary Studies Familiar
Laser etched acrylic, photographic prints, ‘bioluminescent’ material; tonic water, saliva, turmeric/galangal roots makaelarowe-fox.myportfolio.com
...also known as a familiar spirit, an animal supposedly attending a witch. Playfully investigating subversive human/non-human companionship and witchcraft as anti-capitalist resistance, Makaela Rowe-Fox imagines how the human might serve as ‘familiar’ to the deep-sea squid. Rowe-Fox has crafted her own ‘bioluminescent’ material to invoke and listen to the squidwitch. This speculative concoction requires darkness and minimal artificial light – conditions suited to the squid’s sensory perception – to fluoresce and convey meaning. Familiar performatively documents the process in which the human familiar might invoke the squidwitch by shutting down Western Power, the main source of humanmade light in the region.
SARAH SOULAY Fine Arts (Honours) Fem Nuovum
Mixed media sculptural installation using mostly recycled materials
Fem Nuovum: Goosebumps, Uterus, Ocular, Sweat Glands, Cochlear, Hair Follicles @sarahsoulay.art sarahsoulayart.squarespace.com
Fem Nuovum is a speculative soft sculptural installation, depicting a future where a subspecies of human females evolved phenotypic traits for protection, thereby establishing them as the dominant species of human. This is a direct result of society’s unwillingness to protect women from the social, environmental, and institutional dangers it creates. These sculptures are enlarged fictional cellular organisms. They represent different evolved vestigial structures, on a cellular level, in the bodies of these future human females. By using recycled materials, this work also highlights underlying themes of environmental impacts on future humans, and the development of female relationships.
GRACE TAYLOR Psychology, Fine Arts Haven
Wool, fiberboard sites.google.com/view/grace-taylor/work
Haven explores the deep, formative bond we share with our places of dwelling. It explores the intricate tapestry of emotions, memories, and identity interwoven into the very soil we all call home. Through a diverse range of mediums, I seek to unearth the nuanced stories concealed within the landscapes, and by capturing the essence of a place, I invite viewers to reflect on their own experiences of belonging and displacement, acknowledging the diverse narratives within our communities. I aim to evoke a shared sense of nostalgia, longing, and celebration of the enduring ties that connect us to the earth and the dwellings we call our home.
MARAYA TAKONIATIS Philosophy Major, Fine Arts site wisp rs
fumage on paper @marayatkn8ts mayot-rt.webflow.io
site wisp rs is a place for boundaries to dissolve between the human and non-human. The contemplation required to move through this fragile work calls forward the mindfulness that we desperately need as we traverse the world. The homogenised mark-making of fumage (candle smoke drawing) speaks to a radical egalitarianism in substance. Combined with stencilling, the use of fumage speaks to what is shared despite our manifest differences—with the hope that this blurs the boundaries we believe separate us. Contemplating how we are to move forward in the world, site wisp rs asks us to reconsider the silent forces enmeshed among us.
MEGAN THANNOO Fine Arts, Marketing, Curatorial Studies (minor) I will always have our mothers’ blood
Coconut husk, textiles and found objects
How can we move forward if there is still a continual search for the past? I will always have our mothers’ blood employs materiality and found objects to navigate the complex weight generational trauma and colonisation have on identity and belonging. Exploring the artist’s Mauritian ancestry as a descendant of indentured labourers sent from India, the exploitation and suffering her ancestors survived and its continual impact was uncovered. Coconut, a resource abundant in Mauritius, reflects indentured labourers’ strenuous labour and resourcefulness. Coir (coconut) ropes twist to form a ghostly image of a saree, the traditional clothing of Indo-Mauritian women, while coconut husks and ash intertwine objects connecting the past and present.
SUSANNAH THOMPSON Fine Arts ‘If Nature Was Sentient.........’ Watercolour on paper
susannahtart.wixsite.com/susannahthompson
Susannah Thompson makes nonhumanist works that place nature as the central subject, evoking the experience of being in nature through expressive mark making. The materiality of watercolour and paper has been selected for its low harm to the environment and its potential for collaboration between artist and material. The large scale of the series If Nature Was Sentient… demands an improvisational physicality that Susannah draws on from her theatre making practice. By pushing nature to the front of the picture plane she subverts traditional portraiture and its historical purpose and challenges the tradition and values of the majestic gaze.
TEA (TSZTUNG) TSANG Communication and Media, Fine Arts Modern Jade Museum
3D modelling, photographs, video @maige_tea www.teatsang.art
Tea TSANG’s Modern Jade Museum, the creation of a virtual realm harmoniously unites tangible artifacts with digital media icons. This immersive installation delves into the multifaceted development of communication within human society, drawing inspiration from the study of icons. Weaving together the rich traditions of social etiquette from China’s Liangzhu jade culture with the contemporary landscape of social media, this piece endeavors to explore and observe the possibilities in past/ present/future human activities of symbolic communication.
JESS VAN HEERDEN History of Art, Fine Arts, Curatorial Studies (minor) photograph_of_a_person/
DALL-E2 generated images, paper pulp, copier paper, cotton thread (machine stitched), wire, paint, board, papier-mâché (flour and water), mod podge glue, acrylic paint @jesshopeart
Interrogating the artificial linkage between femininity and domesticity, as frequently represented by OpenAI’s DALL-E2, the work examines the tendency of AI image generation to promote systematic power imbalances despite being perceived as a ‘neutral’, forwardlooking technology. The objects, vases and crockery, epitomise the constructed female-domestic association and its persistent, nostalgic position in collective memory. The objects are divorced from their expected materiality, delicacy, and consistency, creating something that is recognisably strange – mimicking the effect of the uncanny DALL-E2 generated images. Arduous domestic practices make visible homemaking’s implicit labour, whilst equally commenting on the consistent privileging of certain values by current computer vision.
LILY WANG Fine Arts Flow
Ink, textile, audio @lily.w_art
This artwork undertakes a journey in searching cultural belonging through an installation capturing the flowing movements of ink drops merging into water, bowls of ground Chinese ink surrounded with recorded sounds of ink grinding. The artwork explores the idea of cultural identity, evolving from the experiences as an immigrant from China, the artist seeks for a connection within the context of the Chinese culture by immersing into this traditional art making. The drops of ink in water transform and blend, reflecting change and adapting with the environment but at the same time creating a mark of its own.
Electronic Music and Sound Design
We are thrilled to present the exceptional work of our third-year Electronic Music and Sound Design (EMSD) students in FAM+23. Our students have displayed unwavering dedication in producing their professional projects. Over a span of 12 months, they've embarked on personal creative journeys, culminating in an array of projects. This year's exhibit boasts professional EP recordings spanning various genres, performances, immersive multi-speaker soundscapes, VR experiences, and video game compositions.
A testament to their talent and commitment, our students have composed, produced, and mixed their individual works, meeting industry standards. Their achievements fill us with immense pride, and we wholeheartedly wish them continued success in their forthcoming endeavours. We thank the School of Design for this enriching collaboration.
DR CHRISTOPHER TONKIN AND DR TRACY REDHEAD
Electronic Music and Sound Design (EMSD)
ADRIAN BEDFORD Computer Science, Electronic Music and Sound Design Virtual Reality Concert
Virtual Reality, Ableton Live 11, Unity, Audacity www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-bedford-1a44a4232/
This virtual reality concert is an 8-minute long visual and auditory experience. You are placed within a self-designed performance venue, closely resembling an underground electronic club, where you will experience what is an assortment of small song clips designed similarly to a DJ set. The designer, Adrian, has used the Virtual Reality medium in hopes of creating an ideal vision of what he would want out of an individual live performance without the accompanying costs of production, as a way to represent his artistic vision in an easily accessible way.
DECLAN BOYLE Electronic Music and Sound Design, Japanese Studies HYPERCRITICAL 4-Track EP
HYPERCRITICAL is a 4-track EP combining heavy rock and electronic music, blending strong rhythms and distorted instruments with quieter melodic lines and introspective lyrics. I have always been my own worst critic when it comes to what I create, endlessly rewriting and re-recording, never happy with any result and never feeling I am good enough, hence the title. This EP serves as a reminder to myself that I am good at what I do, and I should always believe in my own work. The four songs are all a deeply personal part of my life and journey to this realisation.
EDDY BORG (SUNCHAI) Physics, Electronic Music and Sound Design HOME AGAIN 4 Track EP
Collaborators: Vocalist - Vince Umbers (WAAPA), Vocalist - Lucinda Poy (WAAPA), Vocalist - Ziberia (Argentina) @sunchaimusic
‘HOME AGAIN’ is Eddy’s heartfelt tribute to the music that has brought joy throughout his life. The EP weaves together elements of Pop, 80s, house, and various dance music genres. This project’s central theme has been delving into the art of songwriting and collaborating with vocalists to craft unforgettable tunes that stay with you. The outcome is a four-track EP that takes you on a nostalgic journey through introspection, retrospection, relationships, and the carefree vibes of summer. Anticipate the self-release of ‘HOME AGAIN’ on all major streaming platforms, along with Dolby Atmos versions in early 2024.
JAMES DEL BORRELLO (NEW JAMES) Electronic Music and Sound Design Based On a True Story
4 Track EP, Ableton Live 11, Rode NT1A Mic, DBX 286S Preamp Collaborators: @artdealerbengi (Mastering) soundcloud.com/newjames open.spotify.com/artist/3d26VuBuCQBzby8UI7cz4G
‘Based On a True Story’ is a collection of tracks using artist New James’ original vocal samples as the melodic core. Taking inspiration from Artists such as Russ, Quavo, AllDay and SZA, these vocals have been manipulated and complemented with soulshaking bass and hard-hitting percussion. Alongside producing the instrumentals, the tracks feature lead vocals from New James. The lyrical origins stem from experiences and anecdotes of real events in the artist’s life. The lyrical structure of the EP touches notes surrounding inner challenges that artists and humans alike face when creating, and more broadly, living to the fullest.
TUI DOUGIAMAS Electronic Music and Sound Design, Law and Society The Explorer
Game Composition and Sound Design @musicbytui tui-music.com
Tui has reimagined The Explorer, a Unity sample game, by completely overhauling its score and sound effects with original compositions. Weaving together synthesized audio, curated samples, and self-recorded foley, each note and sound is meticulously crafted to immerse players in The Explorer’s alien world. Starting this journey with no background in coding, Tui has utilised emerging AI tools to upskill and bridge the gap. The outcome is a truly adaptive and interactive auditory experience that responds fluidly to players’ movements and actions. Tui hopes to offer escapism, a cathartic break from the familiar.
JACOB GOSPER Electronic Music and Sound Design ocular noise // cochlear imprint
Audio reactive visualisers, 6 track EP, Max/MSP/Jitter, Ableton Live 11 Collaborators: SUPEREGO, Faoul Duke @jacobgosper
This work is a multidisciplinary exploration into the pairing of audio and visual mediums. Designed in Max/MSP/Jitter to supplement live musical performances, the ocular noise visualisers are rendered and respond to audio in real time, facilitating free-flowing musical expression and improvisation on stage while providing an audio synchronised immersive visual experience. In addition to this exhibition, ocular noise is performing on tour with local band SUPEREGO, most notably at SXSW Sydney. The cochlear imprint EP, produced, mixed and mastered by the artist and featuring vocal appearances by SUPEREGO’s Faoul Duke, serves as a vehicle to showcase ocular noise in action.
RODERICK HARDY Electronic Music and Sound Design Soundscapes for Trailers
5 Video Game Trailers - Audio, Ableton Live 11 www.youtube.com/channel/UCOyqsJeR5ow1E25_oDVVipQ
With a background interest in computer game & film industries, the artist has sought to exhibit a showcase of musical score, foley and voice, over and assortment of video game trailers. The trailers were sourced through the creative common’s videos available on YouTube. All sound was then removed, and Roderick built the audio from the ground up. The music was composed using the Push2 controller, employing digital instruments both native and externally sourced, as well as guitars recorded in his home studio. Foley sounds were gathered from Freesound. org or recorded using an SM-7B microphone, which also captured his voice.
HENRÈ Computer Science, Electronic Music and Sound Design TIME
7 Track EP, Ableton Live 11, Splice, Omnisphere @henrytomars
TIME is a 7-track EP of songs designed by artist Henrè to challenge your pulse. The compositions utilise techniques including ratcheting, metric modulations, and unusual time signatures to tap into new emotions. This EP was designed in Ableton Live 11, warping samples from Splice with synthetic sounds from orchestral power-synth Omnisphere. The resulting variety is challenging to limit to a single genre. The author Henry Hewgill’s motivation is to present a taste of reprieve from conventional expressions of musical time to the ear. Inspired, ironically, from his time dynamics explorations as a classically trained pianist.
OLIVER LYNCH Computer Science, Electronic Music and Sound Design Generative Virtual Reality Experience
Virtual Reality, Ableton Live 11, Unity, Blender, Chuck, Affinity Photo ol.au
For my project I wanted to focus on things that I was interested in, namely Virtual Reality, spatial audio and generative audio. I wanted to create a short experience with a couple of scenes to explore multiple different ideas. I used Unity to build the experience and Ableton Live to create various audio samples that I could then control using Chuck, an audio programming language. Over all I achieved what I set out to do, although I want to expand the experience by adding an additional scene.
GABRIEL NATHAN Electronic Music and Sound Design, Creative Writing Studies Stack O Bot
Game Composition and Sound Design, Ableton Live 11 Suite, Audacity, FMOD, Unreal Engine 5, Zoom H5
Using foley recordings, synthesised sound and audio editing in Audacity, Gabriel brings to life the Stack O Bot game sample for Unreal Engine 5 by adding missing sound effects, ambience, and music. Comprised of a mix of recorded performance, samples, and MIDI instrumentation, the soundtrack mixes his own style with a blend of retro gaming nostalgia. Using FMOD and Unreal’s programming tools, the music is designed to adapt with the gameplay and transform as the player explores the virtual environment.
HARRY PROSSER Computer Science, Electronic Music and Sound Design 1 // acid funk
5 Tracks Performed Live, Ableton Live 11, Arturia V Collection, Fender Jazz Bass, Fender Jazzmaster, Korg Minilogue XD, Superior Drummer 3 Collaborators: Liam Demb, Tobias Bostelman
My project is a live performance featuring guitar, bass and keys. It draws inspiration from jazz, dance, funk and electronic music. I’ve been playing guitar live since I was young and have more recently discovered a love of electronic music, so this project serves as a way to combine these fields and to challenge myself.
NIKHIL WANIGARATNE Media and Communications Studies, Electronic Music and Sound Design longest road-trip of my life
5 Track EP, Logic Pro X, Splice, Serum, Premier Pro, Photoshop Collaborators: wishlane @itstooscar open.spotify.com/ artist/6LNNnLy26u0dMlmU29Kgqq?si=ERIA279K
Written over the course of a year, “longest road-trip of my life” is a loose concept alt-pop EP/album about a character’s loss of self during a road-trip. Paired with the music is a set of visuals to help provide an insight into the story/ main character of the EP.
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we meet and create on, the Wadjuk people of the Noongar nation. We value and respect their continuing culture and contribution to community and the arts of this city and regions. We thank the School of Design staff for their support and guidance. Head of School of Design Dr Kate Hislop Adjunct Staff Sohan Ariel Hayes Erin Coates Curtis Taylor Laetitia Wilson Visiting Artists/Curators Sarah Yukich Pip & Pop (Tanya Schultz) Elham Eshraghian-Haarkansson Olga Cironis Duncan Wright Amy Perejuan-Capone Yabini Kickett Mayma Awaida Lee Kinsella
Discipline of Fine Arts Staff 2023 Dr Ionat Zurr (Chair) Dr Vladimir Todorovic Paul Trinidad Sarah Douglas Andy Quilty Paul Boyé Annie Huang Samuel Beilby Mark Tweedie Yvonne Zago Reegan Jackson Artists in Residence 2023 Curtis Taylor Natalie Scholtz Jimmy Frank Japarurla
Many thanks to Tanya Schultz, Sarah Yukich, Dr Donna Franklin and Paul Boyé for their generous contributions and support in reviews. FAM+23 organising committee would like to thank Sarah Douglas for her outstanding coordination/curation of the exhibition; to Reegan Jackson for his excellent assistance with installation and technical support across the year. We further thank Sam Beilby for installation support and the workshop staff for their ongoing support and Andy Quilty for catalogue proofing and preparation for print. Many thanks to the third year Fine Arts major students for their commitment to marketing, event organisation, sponsorship coordination, didactics and special mention to the catalogue committee, Kai Yee, Lucy, Cait, Jess and Maraya for the collation, proof reading, layout and editing of the catalogue. Many thanks to Janet Holmes à Court AC for the generous contribution of Vasse Felix wines for the opening event.
Head of School, Conservatorium of Music Dr Alan Lourens Conservatorium of Music and Digital Arts Learning Staff Sarah Brittenden Pip White Danielle Loiseau Jesse Stack Mitchell Chiappalone Chloe Wiggers
Electronic Music and Sound Design Staff Dr Chris Tonkin (Chair of Electronic Music and Sound Design) Dr Tracy Redhead Dr Michael Terren Elise Reitze – Swensen David Friedrich We would also like to thank IT for their ongoing assistance. Special thanks to our third year EMSD students on the sponsorship, marketing, catalogue and event committee’s and your involvement in organising the event.