An exhibition of mixed media paintings based on Shakespear's play 'The Tempest' by York artist NATALIE WARD. International composer, musician and music producer David Lawrie has produced a soundscape that will form part of this exhibition. The exhibition opens on Sat 6th August at 11am. Based around Shakespeare's well know and acclaimed play 'The Tempest' I have created a series of images surrounding the beginning of the play which is set at sea with a chaotic storm, conjured by the magic spirit Ariel, which shipwrecks the sailors to the consequential story of events on the island where the characters of Prospero, Miranda and Caliban live. Although most of the pictures are inspired by a somewhat stormy and turbulent sea I have also included the relevant theme of love (in 'The Kiss') which depicts a calm and tranquil environment to portray the happier themed ending for the main characters in the play. Ariel, one of the key characters is also featured in the imagery to include the theme of magical influence and also the island is there to provide a contrast of the stories marooned dwelling place out of the sea. I have used deep, vivid blues to capture the intensity of the storm sea and an abstract compositional structure in my own personal style which projects a surreal and supernatural quality to convey the idea that nothing is as we would see it in reality. In contrast with the striking image content and stark, imposing backgrounds with the variation of earth, sea and sky I have tried to create a dreamlike quality to the images with a visual sense of space to draw the viewer in. I use a mixed media palette of inks, acrylics, photography and collage. Bold, bright colours on layers of handmade papers and collage materials are important in my art with reproduced photos and images I have taken or found from day to day objects to fictitious creations. Concepts of combining the realistic with the imaginary inspire me. Natalie Ward, York, 2011 (please use TAB key to scroll across the following images)
'A Brave Vessel' Mixed Media painting from 'Tempest' series by Natalie Ward, £180 framed
Natalie Ward is an Illustration design graduate with a specialization in multi media abstract collage. Her work is inspired by themes of an imaginary and surreal context. Natalie has been involved in two group exhibitions, this is her first installation project. Click to Watch a video with soundtrack by David Lawrie
Not a Drop to Drink. Every Chance to Sink.
2011 David Lawrie Stereo Duration: 10.29 This electroacoustic/acousmatic piece is directly influenced by the nautical themes and Shakespearean stimulus of Natalie's artwork. The piece is constructed from three location recordings of i) the sound of the sea from a distance, ii) the sound of waves lapping in close proximity to the microphone, and iii) the sound of a trickling stream in a forest; each around thirty seconds to one minute in length. There are four distinct sections, each with differing sonic manipulation trends: The first section, representing a neutral ocean, is built around a traditional soundscape of largely unaltered versions of sources i and ii. As this section progresses, granular processing is gradually introduced as a way of distorting the natural image. The second section, representing a dangerous, violent ocean, introduces temporal manipulation of granulated and filtered versions of sources i and ii. The 'angular' and regimented nature of this section is largely achieved by using blocks of sound, rather than gradual manipulation of a single source. This section ends with the suggestion of submerging (and possibly drowning), which is a product of severe filtering, ring modulation, reversed reverb and the inclusion of source iii (which is the only instance of this recorded sample in the whole piece). The third section, representing a more harmonious ocean, focuses on spectral manipulation, or more accurately, spectral extraction and combination. Because of the nature of the source recordings, which have a likeness to white noise, there is constant energy in the entirety of the humanly audible frequency spectrum. By extracting particular frequencies of the western harmonic spectrum, a two-octave chromatic scale is achieved. By combining frequencies, and using the pulse of the waves as a natural rhythm, a harmonic series emerges, resolving with a perfect octave of the root note. The final section maintains a decaying resolution chord from the previous section, whilst returning to the original neutral ocean from the introduction in a nod towards the destructive, yet beautiful nature of the ocean - the calm before and after the storm. About the Artist David is a Master's graduate of Leeds College of Music where he studied Music Production, specialising in Studio based Composition, and produced his album "Liars, Charlatans, Jinxmongers (for voice and accompaniment)", which he subsequently performed at The National Centre for Early Music. David is a composer and producer in the UK and America, and has worked with Popular Music, Theatre, and Sound Design for application amongst other things.
For more information, go to www.davidlawrie.co.uk
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