The Artists
Jason Singh
Jason Singh is a sound artist, nature beatboxer, producer, dj, curator, facilitator and performer.
On Sunday 6 July, renowned sound artist and composer Jason Singh will premiere the Mother of the Sea soundscape, experienced through IOU’s multi-sensory, sculptural sound installation Sound Wave Collider, at the Flashes Festival of Nature.
Mother of the Sea is an outdoor soundscape installation celebrating the life and work of Leigh born botanist Dr Kathleen Mary Drew Baker.
Commissioned by Wigan Council and Turnpike Gallery, Mother of the Sea bridges Leigh and Uto, Kumamoto, Japan, where Dr Drew is celebrated each year through a Shinto Ceremony at the Sumiyoshi shrine.
Installed for Flashes of Nature festival, IOU Theatre / David Wheeler’s Sound Wave Collider is a striking outdoor sculptural sound device where art, sound, and space converge into five distinct listening zones.
Born in Leigh, 1901, Dr Drew was a pioneering British scientist whose research into the lifecycle of edible seaweed helped transform the Japanese Nori industry.
In 1949, an article about her discovery was read by Japanese botanist Sokichi Segawa, who applied her findings to Nori. By 1963, Japanese marine biologists led by Fusao Ota, had significantly developed techniques built on Dr Drew’s research, marking the start of the multi-billion pound industry it is today.
Dr Drew is still remembered throughout Japan. Each year on 14 April at the Sumiyoshi Shrine, Uto, a Shinto priest recites prayers in a ceremony honouring her life and work. A monument of Dr Drew stands in the shrine garden, looking out over the nori growing Ariake Sea, where she is celebrated as the Mother of the Sea.
This April, Jason Singh travelled to Uto where he visited the Sumiyoshi Shrine and attended the Shinto ceremony. He met with the local mayor, representatives of the Nori fisheries and Mr Yamamoto San, the 85 year old scientist who continues the legacy of Dr Drew, propagating Nori on oyster shells.
From the biodata of the sacred Sakaki tree, the wind in the bamboo forests of the area, the sound of birdsong and the mantras of the Shinto priest, Jason has created Mother of the Sea.
The piece takes you across the ocean from Rhosneigr where Dr Drew made her discovery, to stand at her monument in the shrine garden; looking out at the Ariake Sea, and the Nori fishermen heading out to harvest this highly prized food.
This free sound installation invites you to move around and experience the sounds of the ceremony and the atmosphere of the Shrine.
A moment to reflect on the spirit of positive collaboration; between science and industry, between two distant nations and between humankind and nature.
A sound artist, nature beatboxer, DJ, performer and facilitator, Jason’s exploration of nature, voice and technology, collaborations with musicians, wildlife experts, visual artists and dancers lead into projects including live performance, installations, sound walks, podcasts, DJ sets, and music for film and theatre with commissions from national museums & galleries, BBC and major festivals.
IOU Creation Centre are a leading producer of experimental, interdisciplinary site-specific art, engineering and technology. Based at Dean Clough Mills in Halifax, the IOU Creation Centre is a studio, workshop, and gallery space. The concept for Sound Wave Collider was realised by IOU Artistic Director David Wheeler.
Jason Singh is a sound artist, nature beatboxer, producer, dj, curator, facilitator and performer.
