The worlds of sound, art and science merge for SoundMuse, a new exhibition at Birmingham’s The Hive Gallery (7-24 June 2022).
SoundMuse: The Sound Of Nature And The Nature Of Sound is the debut exhibition from Birmingham-based classical musician, composer, artist and teacher Nick Chamberlain.
Featuring sounds from the natural world, and compositions inspired by them, the immersive exhibition also includes visual representations of sound. These photographs and images show what happens when sound interacts with water, granules and smoke, and demonstrates how machines can ‘draw’ sound.
The results are often surprising, with complex geometric shapes and patterns emerging.
Explains Nick: “With the SoundMuse exhibition, I wanted to explore some of the mysteries of sound and bring to life the connections between sound, visual forms and science.
“The visual side of the exhibition has evolved from my research into sound, and especially cymatics, the study of visualising sound waves. I am fascinated by the multitude of patterns and forms that emerge in water, soap bubbles and granules when sound is passed through them, and my work is intended to celebrate these amazing natural symmetries.
“The natural word also inspires my audio-visual work in a more direct, familiar way. Moments Of Nature In Sound is a series of seven pieces inspired by such familiar things as rain, wind, flowers and bees, each evoking a fleeting series of moments. The video images sometimes directly illustrate the music and soundscapes, but at other times, the sounds themselves are creating the images in real time.”
The exhibition also includes vintage and antique technology, such as a 1980s Harmonograph and 1920s children’s gramophone, as well as various unusual sound related scientific instruments and ephemera.
▪ SoundMuse: The Sound Of Nature And The Nature Of Sound runs from Tuesday 7 June to Friday 24 June 2022 at The Hive Gallery, 43-47 Vittoria Street, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham B1 3PE. Open Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 3.30pm. Admission free. For more information, see: www.soundmuse.co.uk
Tuesday 7 June to Friday 24 June 2022
SoundMuse: The Sound Of Nature And The Nature Of Sound
Artist and composer Nick Chamberlain explores the fascinating links between sound, art and science with visual representations of sound.
The Hive Gallery, Ruskin Mill Land Trust, 43-47 Vittoria Street, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham B1 3PE
Open: Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 3.30pm.
Admission: Free
Details: www.soundmuse.co.uk
Social Media:
www.facebook.com/Soundmuseuk
twitter.com/soundmuseuk
ABOUT NICK CHAMBERLAIN
Nick Chamberlain is a Birmingham-based classical musician, composer, artist and teacher.
Nick composes music for various instrumental combinations in a wide range of styles including classical, electronic and sound collage. His guitar compositions have received excellent reviews and his pedagogical music is used by music teachers around the country. He has developed work with string players from London Symphony Orchestra and his choral piece, From A Railway Carriage, was recorded and broadcast on Performance On 3, BBC Radio 3, as part of Sound and Music’s Adopt-a-Composer scheme.
Nick has given many workshops and presentations for teachers and students with Birmingham Music Service. Videos of his teaching are used for teacher training as part of the Reel Learning programme.
In recent years he has combined his music work with research into sound which has evolved into the SoundMuse project. This project incorporates video and photography as well as instrumental music and soundscapes. He has recently lead a visualising sound workshop at BOM Gallery, where participants created visual art using sound vibrations.