PR
Stour Valley Arts is delighted to present a new work by Lee Patterson resulting from his ongoing residency. Elemental Fields maps an often overlooked landscape in Kent to uncover its hidden sounds. Through ingenious field recordings, Lee Patterson explores the world around us, using it as an acoustic instrument to reveal how shifts in environments can impact our sonic experience.
“Field recording, especially with contact microphones or hydrophones, can confound what one thinks to know of the world, and this remains one of my main motivations, to be able to venture out and discover something of bizarre beauty, something unexpected that astounds and remains inexplicable within an apparently mundane, commodified and tamed world.” Lee Patterson
Lee Patterson is at the centre of a network of artists whose work occupies a space between galleries and concert halls. In recent years he has developed a growing reputation in the international arena as a sound artist and improviser. Using unconventional approaches, he has invented new methods for producing music from everyday objects and amplified devices, as well as original processes for live sound generation. A regular collaborator with artist Luke Fowler, Patterson’s work has been shown at Tate Modern’s Long Weekend, the Barbican’s Radical Nature and AV Festival 10 in Newcastle Gateshead. Recorded works have been released on various albums.
Since November last year, Patterson has been exploring and collecting material in King’s Wood and the Ashford flood plain, working closely with Stour Valley Arts and the Forestry Commission to identify areas of sonic and ecological interest. Through the use of contact microphones and hydrophones, he accesses the microscopic sound worlds of solid materials and underwater environments such as ponds, rivers, drainage ditches and moats. Patterson uses sound recording akin to a sketch book, providing the space for collection and artistic exploration. With these recordings Patterson creates work that provides sonic snapshots of specific landscape and reveals how these are continually in flux.
In July, audiences will be able to experience these hidden worlds through a site specific sound installation which takes place in a found space in the middle of Ashford Town Centre but only minutes away from the flood plain. The installation will comprise a number of discrete rooms, each containing a soundscape composed of field recordings from two local sites: the flood plains surrounding Ashford and nearby King’s Wood in Challock, Kent.
Patterson is alive to the eco-political concerns surrounding the development of South Ashford, and by focussing on watercourses that will continue to be an important part of this flood plain landscape, he identifies wildlife habitats of ongoing significance. The project is supported by Ashford Borough Council and Ashford’s Future, who are responsible for delivering regeneration throughout the borough and ensuring the town develops and grows in a sustainable way.
Alongside Lee Patterson’s residency, Stour Valley Arts education program has engaged with two local schools, both located in this newly developed area, to work in sound mapping with artist Louisa Martin.
Patterson’s residency will culminate in 2011 with the launch of a physical work situated in King’s Wood. He aims to create a variety of sound making ‘tools’ through selective environmental interventions. One possibility is the creation of one or more ponds, which will be managed and stocked with specific sound producing organisms, as a way of composing underwater soundscapes and creating a rich ongoing sonic resource within the forest.
For more information, images and interviews please contact Maija Handover / sounduk, 020 7375 0025, maija@sounduk.net, www.sounduk.net
Notes to Editors:
About Stour Valley Arts
Stour Valley Arts is an independent arts organisation which aims to increase awareness and enjoyment of contemporary art while encouraging greater interest in the environment through commissions, education, exhibitions, publications and international collaborations. Based in King's Wood, Challock, Kent, Stour Valley Arts has worked in partnership with the Forestry Commission and other organisations since 1994 to create a resource for artists, teachers and students of all ages and for the public. For further information about SVA visit www.stourvalleyarts.org.uk.
About Lee Patterson
Lee Patterson lives in Prestwich, near Manchester and has achieved a growing reputation as a sound artist and improvising musician. Using a number of distinct approaches he has developed a new ‘voice’ for an accumulation of everyday objects and amplified devices, as well as original processes for live sound generation. He has an interest in ‘overlooked’ or hidden sounds with particular reference to landscape and ‘natural’ environments. Patterson has worked with a host of international improvisers and sound artists in solo and collaborative contexts at a range of European festivals and events. In 2006, drawing upon his archive of field recordings, he produced the radio show, ‘Audio Sketchbook’, for Resonance FM, London. Recent and current projects include the production of his first, full-length solo CD release; forthcoming collaborative CD releases with Phil Durrant and Paul Vogel – Buoy (Cathnor); Graham Halliwell (Confront); and Rhodri Davies and David Toop. Working live, he has undertaken short tours with Jez Riley French and with Rhodri Davies and Angharad Davies. He also co-curated (with Ben Gwiliam) the series of live events, ‘Salford Concert Series’, in association with the University of Salford. Patterson has a Visual Art BA from the University of Salford.
