NOMINATION: Work of the Year - Electroacoustic / Sound Art
The Electroacoustic / Sound Art category is for works which utilise and manipulate digital and/or analogue sound as the primary medium. The work may be interdisciplinary (incorporating more than one media). It may include, but is not limited to; sonic art, electronics, interactive work, generative music, environmental sound, installations, soundscapes, electroacoustic music, and intermedia works.
A work is defined as a single complete musical composition, or expression. This includes music with movements or sub-works (i.e. song cycles), installations, and real-time compositions (improvised music).
If you believe your work to be nominated in the wrong category or the details of your nomination to be incorrect, please contact the AMC via email at awards@australianmusiccentre.com.au before proceeding with the nomination.
Art Music Award guidelines →
Nominee
Marlene Radice
Title of the work
What's in a postcard? Baby, i just wanted to make you smile
Librettist(s) or source author(s)
Sophie Dumaresque
Performer
Video and physical performance by Sophie Dumaresque
Performance Date
27/10/2024
Venue
National Arboretum as a part of the Canberra Art Biennial
Nominator Statement
Video and physical performance by Sophie Dumaresque
Composition and music, written and performed by Marlene Radice
Whats in a postcard? Baby, I just wanted to make you smile is an ongoing series of recorded endurance performances where the artist endeavours to share a sunset with her 100-kilo mechanical shark(Baby), by attempting to pull the shark up a hill. Frankie, the artists dog who has been equipped with their own camera, both witnesses and at times shares in these attempts.
The project revolves around the romantic and comic sublime, looking into the beauty of the absurd, especially within the urge to want to share something deeply with someone else. The work uses the slapstick materiality of the physical performance and its absurdity to question how different beings, bodies and brains all experience things differently.
Inspired by two of the artists favourite films; Fitzcarraldo by Werner Herzog and its corresponding behind the scenes documentary Burden of Dreams by Les Blank. The work investigates the Comic Sublime by looking at what it is to try and share joy, love, laughter and communicate in a universe filled with beings whose brains, existence and or bodies are built inherently differently to that of your own. The artist recognises the Comic Sublime as physically absurd phenomena, that despite its absurdity is occurring due to the sublime and absurd nature of existence itself.
The sound was created in collaboration between the artist and the musician Marlene Claudine Radice through prompts. The prompts were based on themes of Romantic longing and research into the different vibrational frequencies which sharks and other beings communicate through which the human being is consciously unaware. Layers of clarinets, intimate vocals, brown noise samples and synths have been used to explore neurodivergence and intimacy. The sound is designed to be a companionate backdrop to Sophie and her intimate relationship with her shark lover, Baby. In live performance the sound creates an ambient bed to support the audience and performers to witness the endurance required to share a sunset with a 100kg shark and two queer artists dressed as sexy cows.
The work investigates issues of labor, examining how we quantify and experience the physical in an increasingly digital world. The absurd is used in the work to generate questions surrounding concepts of care, empathy, compassion and labour when it comes to the physical world as well as within past, current and potential future technological advancements.
Nominee
Marlene Radice
Title of the work
What's in a postcard? Baby, i just wanted to make you smile
Librettist(s) or source author(s)
Sophie Dumaresque
Performer
Video and physical performance by Sophie Dumaresque
Performance Date
27/10/2024
Venue
National Arboretum as a part of the Canberra Art Biennial
Composition and music, written and performed by Marlene Radice
Whats in a postcard? Baby, I just wanted to make you smile is an ongoing series of recorded endurance performances where the artist endeavours to share a sunset with her 100-kilo mechanical shark(Baby), by attempting to pull the shark up a hill. Frankie, the artists dog who has been equipped with their own camera, both witnesses and at times shares in these attempts.
The project revolves around the romantic and comic sublime, looking into the beauty of the absurd, especially within the urge to want to share something deeply with someone else. The work uses the slapstick materiality of the physical performance and its absurdity to question how different beings, bodies and brains all experience things differently.
Inspired by two of the artists favourite films; Fitzcarraldo by Werner Herzog and its corresponding behind the scenes documentary Burden of Dreams by Les Blank. The work investigates the Comic Sublime by looking at what it is to try and share joy, love, laughter and communicate in a universe filled with beings whose brains, existence and or bodies are built inherently differently to that of your own. The artist recognises the Comic Sublime as physically absurd phenomena, that despite its absurdity is occurring due to the sublime and absurd nature of existence itself.
The sound was created in collaboration between the artist and the musician Marlene Claudine Radice through prompts. The prompts were based on themes of Romantic longing and research into the different vibrational frequencies which sharks and other beings communicate through which the human being is consciously unaware. Layers of clarinets, intimate vocals, brown noise samples and synths have been used to explore neurodivergence and intimacy. The sound is designed to be a companionate backdrop to Sophie and her intimate relationship with her shark lover, Baby. In live performance the sound creates an ambient bed to support the audience and performers to witness the endurance required to share a sunset with a 100kg shark and two queer artists dressed as sexy cows.
The work investigates issues of labor, examining how we quantify and experience the physical in an increasingly digital world. The absurd is used in the work to generate questions surrounding concepts of care, empathy, compassion and labour when it comes to the physical world as well as within past, current and potential future technological advancements.