Audio Arts: Volume 22 Nos 2 & 3

Imogen Stidworthy summarises her work of recent years as an investigation and questioning of the 'ventriloquial' view of the voice-body relationship. Influenced by the theories of (amongst others) Lacan and Silverman, Stidworthy's installations use various media (including film, video and sound) to explore the complexities of human vocal expression, and to investigate and modify the acoustic character of particular spaces. Her most recent projects include the creation of The Whisper Heard at Matt's Gallery (September-November 2003) and the presentation of Anyone Who Had A Heart (2004) at the ICA, London (Stidworthy's contribution to the 2004 Beck's Futures Prize). In this conversation the artist discusses predominant themes and concerns in her work, and characterises these two particular works as opposites: while The Whisper Heard powerfully recruits the viewer/listener into its protagonists' struggle to communicate, the latter affects its audience in a very different way, confronting and disorienting it via a disconcertingly visceral, aggressive vocal expression disconnected from any persuasively 'real', authentic or spontaneous expression. Interview by Rachel Withers, 2004.

David Austen is renowned for his painstakingly executed oils on canvas with their meticulous attention to layers and surface. His conversation at the Anthony Reynolds Gallery discusses his techniques, draftsmanship and the cross references of image and text. Austen's art historical references and his love of architecture and poetry are discussed in relation to works such as Green Tree (2003-4) and Blind (2003-4). The symbiotic relations between the real and imagined, his focus on colour, ground and drawing weave a narrative that mirrors the exhibition space of the Gallery as it is walked around during the conversation. Interview by Jean Wainwright, March 2004.

Jemima Stehli talks about new work made for her solo show at the Lisson Gallery in the spring of last year. The interview begins by discussing a site-specific photograph made outside of the studio space - her usual place of production. Stehli talks of the increased vulnerabilty in the photograph and the complexities of exposing her naked body as both the subject and object of the work. Stehli speaks of her references, her relationship to feminism and her roots in sculpture. Interview by Chloe Briggs, February 2004.

Gavin Turk's conversation in his studio revolves around his show The Golden Thread, at the White Cube Gallery. Consisting of black bin bags cast in bronze (Tip and Pile) the controversial subject matter forms a basis for a discussion on materials, transformation, alchemy and his persona as artist. From his appearance as a Bum at the Sensation show at the Royal Academy, to a bronze cast of a sleeping bag which he placed in a doorway, Turk discusses his responses to the world around him and the fact that by demystifying art it still has a tendency to become metaphysical. The acquisition of meaning and relationship between context and viewer are discussed including Pop of 1993 and his infamous blue plaque for his degree show at the RCA. Interview by Jean Wainwright, February 2004.

The conversation with Katy Dove revolves around her commissioned work for the recent group show at The Drawing Room titled A Kind of Bliss. Dove works by animating 'automatic' felt-tip or watercolour drawings, her response to the proposal was Luna a sequence from dusk till dawn. The interview addresses Dove's working processes in particular how to retain spontaneity when making art on the computer, the equal status of sound and image in her work and the 'dark side' of her dream-like sequences. Interview by Chloe Briggs, April 2004

During her recent show at White Cube Sarah Morris discusses Los Angeles (2004) her most recent film. With its deconstruction of the ritualised fetishism of celebrity, her work mediates between LA as city and the power structures that underpin the Oscars. Her conversation provides a privileged insight into the planning and execution of a complex series of negotiations for access, the positioning of cameras and the perverse narcissism of 'stars'. Morris's telling version of 'cinéma vérité', her film about 'filmmaking' shot in 'cinemascope' raises questions about the celebration of a city and her wish to 'take control of her own set of references'. During her conversation Morris's paintings are also discussed. Their meticulous surfaces, colour grids and architectonic pathology reveal the types of systems that the city operates described by Morris as 'diagrams of headaches'. From the Hollywood 'powerbrokers' to the 'star systems', the salmon pink of a final script to Liam Gillick's musical score - Morris reveals the multi-layered cross references that underpin her current artistic practice. Interview by Jean Wainwright, June 2004.

Nils Norman's works embrace forms of activity and technological competences that would normally be understood as the preserve of urbanism or environmental activism, yet he insists on the importance of their being understood within the category 'art'. Here, Norman's interview presentation bodies forth the strategically ambivalent, sardonic, hybrid and performative character of his practice, as he outlines the agendas involved in recent projects developed for the Camden Art Centre, the Generali Foundation in Vienna, and the Christian Nagel Gallery in Berlin. Norman also discusses the Geocruiser a mobile greenhouse-cum-library built into a coach which toured across Europe, before being adopted by a group of Spanish gardeners. Norman's Urbanomics (the artist's own term for his study of the relationship between economics and the engineering of urban environments) draws on his abiding interest in the history of Utopian experimentation, and is unafraid of proposing divergent, provocative and engaging associations - for example, the idea that Bram Stoker's Dracula be considered as a pioneer of the practice of urban gentrification. Interview by Rachel Withers, 2004.

Drew Hemment talks about Futuresonic04, a festival of projects with a sonic element, organised under the themes of Turntable Remix, Mobile Connections and Location. The festival took the form of a conference, an exhibition (in which Audio Arts had a presence) and a series of events and workshops. The conversation goes from the roots of Futuresonic in the 1990s, through its development with the emergence of particular themes as annual foci, to its present incarnation. Hemment discusses his curatorial collaborations this year with Colin Fallows and the Locative Media Lab as well as his aims overall aims for Futuresonic. Artists and projects talked about include Rich Air 2030, Jonah Brucker-Cohen's Wi-fi Hog, Blast Theory's Uncle Roy All Around You (based at the Cornerhouse), Akitsugu Maebayashi's Sonic Interface, Iori Nakai's Streetscape. Interview by Zoë lrvine, May 2004.

Stella Vine talked to Jean Wainwright at the Saatchi Gallery during the exhibition New Blood. Vine's fascination with Princess Diana as victim, tabloid celebrity and superstar - the relationship of Diana and her butler as a subject for her painting is highlighted with regard to the tabloid fascination with tragedy and conspiracy theories. Hi Paul I'm Scared (2003) is contrasted with Rachel Whiter's portrait and the press controversy that it caused as calls were being made for Rachel's body to be exhumed. Vine's method of painting with its distinctive 'bad painting' characteristics and her inclusion in Saatchi's new hang are also included in this vox pop interview. Interview by Jean Wainwright, March 2004.

Simon English discusses his first solo show in London for six years with Kathy Kubicki. Simon English Figures at Rhodes + Mann comprises of a number of intense, playful, and homoerotic drawings, using complex layering of pencil, paint and collage. This two-year stream of consciousness uses references from every-day narratives, culture, art history and childhood. The intensely personal and confessional drawings are mapped together in large frames, the selection process and juxtapositioning teases out hidden desires and fantasy. One of the original YBAs, English has successfully chosen a more private and discursive practice than his contemporaries. Interview by Kathy Kubicki, March 2004.