Join us for the programme launch of the sixth annual Dumfries Music Conference featuring the premiere un-veiling of a new immersive sonic artwork by visual artist Heather Lander, with music by Michael Begg. Presented in partnership with Sonica and the Stove Network.
Presenting ideas of magic, natural phenomena and virtual landscapes, Breaking Reverie, reflects on the natural world, with a view to understanding the ways in which the virtual will change our perception of the self and our physical landscape. Award winning composer, Michael Begg, provides a textured sonic backdrop for the work.
Through illusion, reflection, projection mapping and ink drawing, this moving light sculpture presents an eternal day break on a distant horizon. At the edge between darkness and dawn, it draws you into an abstract landscape. Part physical, part virtual, Breaking Reverie questions what lies beyond.
“Although my work never represents people in any way, nor any recognizable landscapes, it is essentially about humanity and our place in the world” says Lander. “I’m interested in the ways in which we feel a sense of presence in our environment, and how this adds to self-awareness and security. The importance of our physical environment and the idea of losing it is a driving force behind my practice.”
What the press say
“Heather Lander’s art for the Nearer Future.”
“a trance like state as rays of multi coloured light shimmer all around the room. Blues, purples, yellows and white-hot beams of geometric lines rise and fall around the perspex, onto the walls of the carpet. I sat through three cycles of this mesmerising 16-minute loop and it made me feel as though I was locked in an eternal cycle of digital daybreak. I didn’t want to leave and re-join the real world.”
“Installations like Heather Lander’s Nearer Future are the future.” The Herald on Heather Lander’s Nearer Future (2017)
“restless 3D animations of alien landscapes… combined with gorgeous Reich-like nyckelharpa… surrounding the viewer with hocketing, pulsing fragments of melody, the effect is bewitching.” The Scotsman on Heather Lander’s Nearer Future (2017)
“One of our most significant contemporary experimental composers. A true visionary, Begg has quietly developed his own unique and affecting compositional style and sound.” The Active Listener on Michael Begg
“the raw rasps of metal on metal, winds buffeting the towering structure – with huge swelling harmonies, occasionally building to moments of ecstatic beauty.”
“its slow-burn, cumulative effect is one of uncompromising power and inevitable decay, both a celebration of enduring strength and a memorial to its demise.” The Scotsman on Michael Begg’s Titan: A crane is a Bridge (2017)
MORE INFO
Questions? Get in touch martin@thestove.org