BA(Hons) Digital Music and Sound Arts
One might suspect that the recent stretch of enforced isolation played right into the hands of sound workers toiling away in their bedrooms. But rather than simply carrying on doing what seemingly comes natural, even the most reclusive began to ponder – about their personal situation, future identity and prospects; about being locked-in and the joy of being with other people: their own families or the fellow students with whom they were intended to share the university experience; and about the fate of our environment, the spaces we inhabit and our sense of community.
Many of these issues dominated conversations throughout this year and inevitably found their way into final works of this year’s final degree pieces.
Jade Gunner immersed herself in recent memories, creating a homely environment out of family memorabilia: photographs, sounds, video footage and objects.
Joseph Gilling explored his nostalgic relationship with analogue sound and image through digital glitch aesthetics, projected onto a large screen set inside a spatial speaker array.
Toby Hinks explored architectural space and sonic reflection in a sleek interactive sound sculpture.
Matthew Sarre designed an interactive 360o auditory puzzle, inviting his audience to solve a fictional murder.
Alex Lewis-Whitaker conceived a mind map that follows the voices and art of his Asante ancestors, performing it in a live presentation.
Jared Swift reflected on the biosphere by collecting and sonifying raw biological data from saprotrophic fungi and presenting the results in a sculptural setting.
Alex Aiano made us aware of the constant sounds of industries within our wildlife through an immersive slide-show.
James Mannay created a sound composition out of the sounds of an animal cage.
Ike Goldman inserted their quirky idiosyncratic aesthetic into a sound room filled with objects, instruments and paintings.
We toast all of our DMSA finalists, who rose to the challenge and created this wide and imaginative variety of thought-provoking work.
The DMSA staff team