Nocturnal Hums & Bathyal Plains

Over the last few weeks I have been creating a series of works inspired by a mix of ambient/electronic/drone music. The initial process was very much reliant on chance and happenstance, using a method not unlike mono-printing but using a mixture of graphite powder and water with small amounts of paint on glass. The results were mixed. As is often the case when working this way, those that worked best for me were those where I’d had as little as possible conscious intervention; where the materials were left to work their own alchemical magic.

My studio floor was covered in these experiments – which doesn’t take much because it’s not the largest of spaces. Every so often I would catch sight of a piece that ‘worked’ and would set it to one side. The process of editing had begun.

The next phase was quite unexpected but in many ways came through the process of photographing, balancing levels, cropping and editing on screen. I began to combine graphic elements and drawings (some old, some new) into these pieces, again not overthinking. Much of this was a further response to the music I’d been listing to; created in such a way that I felt enhanced that experience. The first piece below was created the day after listening to Maneuvering the Nocturnal Hum by Stars of the Lid, on headphones in the dark. I had experienced what I can only describe as a physical and mental visionary state whilst listening to these tracks. This goes some way in describing this event: something cavernous, ascending and verging on religious.