uncommissioned compositions
The ways of creating and communicating music, particularly Western music, are embedded in systems of notation that resist reform and innovation. Standard music notations are neither expressive nor open to interpretation; rather, they serve as precise instructions for musicians to execute with little to no creative input. In contrast, graphic scores provide abstract guidance that opens up new possibilities. Although they are visual, uncommissioned compositions stem from a deep musical understanding. They offer structures and methodologies that encourage group participation through cross-aesthetic metaphor—using one aesthetic to stimulate potential and possibility in another. By addressing concepts of ownership, responsibility, and agency, these works generate new creative ventures beyond their current visual forms, dissolving the notion of absolute authorship in favor of more horizontal processes of shared creation.
CONVERSATIONS ON SHADOW ARCHITECTURE was a group exhibition curated by Ineke Dane for Metro Arts Brisbane 2021, and then in May 2022 at the Dominik Mersch Gallery in Sydney
g r e e n e r y
Greenery is a collaborative collective originally initiated by Simon and sculptor/artist David Adamo (Peter Freeman Gallery). The collective currently consists of over ten members from various backgrounds and disciplines, with the intention of remaining open and fluid to include both professional artists and performers, as well as community members and the public. It is an ongoing project that focuses on process and explores various material and performative possibilities. Engaging in the broader dialogue between visual art, sound/music, and performance, Greenery’s process-driven approach re-examines and investigates these diverse possibilities. By placing equal emphasis on objects, sound, and human interaction, the perception of each medium is broadened through their union.
New materialism questions how objects influence or contribute to our actions and perceptions. Greenery is a project born from the curiosity of both founding artists, each drawing new potential from the practice of the other. They began to adapt in order to find common ground, expanding both the material and tactile use of the objects and their sonic capabilities. The inclusion of additional collaborators has further enhanced this initial dynamic, forming an expanded, multifaceted, and multidirectional collaboration.
Members of the collective include composer Simon James Phillips (Berlin, originally from Australia), sculptor David Adamo (Berlin, originally from the USA), soprano/actor Ruth Rosenfeld (Berlin, originally from the USA), flautist/composer Rebecca Lane (Berlin, originally from Australia), soprano Carolina Riaño Gómez (Berlin, originally from Colombia), percussionist Emil Kuyumcuyan (Lyon, originally from Turkey), percussionist Steve Heather (Berlin, originally from Australia), artist Heba Y. Amin (Berlin, originally from Egypt), Mourad Baaiz (Brussels), tenor Peter Tantsits (Berlin, originally from the USA), and researcher/author Irene Lehmann (Berlin).
t w o o f ma n y
Two of Many, commissioned by Frederic and Maria Coustols for Palacio Belmonte in Lisbon, is an audio-visual installation created in collaboration with dutch filmmaker Marja de Vries as an observation on historical perspective and understanding. Steeped in hundreds of years of history, the unique Palacio Belmonte was the centrepiece for this work - the work was filmed there, field recordings were recorded there and the work was premiered there in June 2015.