Tag Archives: film
Wendy Kirkup/film from a score

I was excited to perform Berio’s Sequenza III for Wendy Kirkup’s 2017 art film film from a score.
And here’s the film team – Caitlin, Jack and wonderful Mark Vernon recording sound…
Sura Medura 3

Sura Medura 3
The final stage of our residency was focused on preparing for our Moving Out event. Overall, the day at Sunbeach was a wonderful combination of visual art, sound, sculpture, video, performance, people, food, beer, Arrack sour, sea, sand, laughing, chatting, sharing…and cake (what a fabulous day for a birthday!).
We were thrilled to have a good local crowd join us for the day, and also delighted that so many people came down from the Colombo Biennale and the University Faculty of Visual and Performing Arts to join us for some or all of the time.
In our exhibition, which combined some finished elements and work-in-progress, my sound work Sabda saha Pintura was available as a headphone installation.
The title Sabda saha Pintura means sound and picture in Sinhalese – through much discussion this seemed to be the most apt translation for the collage idea I was working with in the piece. Exploring differences in the English/Sinhalese languages was very intriguing – how or in what way metaphors or concepts translate, for example, sound, soundscape, landscape, environment.
During the afternoon an audiovisual tuk tuk tour was running – a collaboration between Natasha (Russell) and me. Three people at a time could hop into Sudu’s tuk tuk and take a short round trip to visit Natasha’s work in local shops accompanied by my soundtrack. Big thanks to Sudu and Chinthaka for running the tours.
The soundtrack combined recordings I gathered from those shops – people introducing themselves and their businesses, shop sounds, etc – the general store, jewellers, barbers, a fruit and veg stall. I also recorded an introduction to the tour in Sinhalese, with pronunciation help from folk at Sunbeach.
Before a fantastic Sri Lankan curry banquet, I accompanied Samson Omiagien with some live vocals for his performance piece with sculpture, which we had rehearsed in the lead up to the event.
Later in the final week we headed up the road for the Colombo Biennale. I was absolutely delighted to have been invited by Shereen Perera to perform a live score for Video Jam – an event running as part of the opening night.
My film extract came from the beautifully strange, thoughtful film Light in the Yellow Breathing Space by Vimukthi Jayasundara.
I still have much to reflect on – such a wonderful thought-provoking time. Thanks to Neil and UZ, Chaminda, Chathura, Hasantha, Kari and all at Sunbeach, Maria and Jack, my fellow artists-in-residence, everyone I met.
Video Jam at Colombo Art Biennale

Video Jam – Live Score/Performance
I was excited to be invited to create a live score for the Video Jam event on the opening night of the Colombo Art Biennale, Sri Lanka. I responded with a solo vocal performance to a beautiful clip of Sri Lankan film-maker Vimukthi Jayasundara’s Light in the Yellow Breathing Space.
The event took place on 2nd December 2016 at the ZMax Fairway Hotel roof terrace and was part of the Colombo Biennale Performing Arts Programme.
Here’s the Facebook event .
Video Jam at CAB Clip
Video Jam at Colombo Art Biennale
Watch Video Jam clip
Here’s a short clip from the Video Jam at the opening night of the Colombo Art Biennale. The link takes you straight through to the Facebook page of Decibel.lk – a Sri Lankan online news, reviews and events site…just click the image to play…
Thanks to Decibel for that. And big thanks to Shereen Perera for inviting me to score for Video Jam.
Away with the Birds clip
Check out a wee clip from our performance of Hanna Tuulikki’s Away with the Birds on the stunning Isle of Canna last August (about 14 mins in).
Glow Co-Create Hooks + Bites Film
Curriculum for Excellence/Glow Co-Create: Hooks + Bites
I was delighted to be appointed as sound artist and facilitator to the creative team of Plan B Collective, who were awarded £30,000 for a Glow Co-Create project for the Curriculum for Excellence (2010-2011).
In partnership with Perth Concert Hall, Perth and Kinross Council, Learning and Teaching Scotland and Creative Scotland, Plan B Collective will deliver Hooks + Bites.
Hooks + Bites is one of ten different projects across Scotland commissioned to take artists into schools to work with pupils to generate creative content for the national schools intranet, Glow.
The creative team is Fiona Fleming, Nichola Scrutton, Erin Scrutton and Barbara Chalmers.
The Project
Hooks + Bites is an education project working with children and young people to generate an interactive art-bank on Glow. There will also be an exhibition – a digital audio-visual artwork in Perth Concert Hall’s unique media artspace Threshold – on its soundbox, bank of screens and sound/audio unit in the public toilets.
Scottish Learning Festival
Plan B Collective was also selected to present a seminar on the ‘Hooks + Bites’ project at the 2010 Scottish Learning Festival.
More about Glow Co-Create
The Co-Create project has been set up through a partnership between the Scottish Arts Council (Creative Scotland) and Learning and Teaching Scotland. GLOW Co-Create recognises the important role the arts can play in learning, in supporting and enhancing the Curriculum for Excellence, and in developing innovative new approaches to learning and teaching through Glow.
Managed by Learning and Teaching Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, Glow is the world’s first national intranet for education. It provides a platform for online collaboration and sharing and allows Scotland’s 54,000 teachers and 750,000 pupils to work and learn in ways that have not been possible before. Glow is breaking down barriers and making learning experiences and opportunities more widely accessible to users across Scotland.
Also read more at TES news.
Move Mood clip
A short clip from Sarah Tripp’s 2009 film Move Mood.