Nicholas Faris

My inquiry into listening uses exercises in improvisation as the starting point for modes of discovery that move beyond musical contexts using visual narratives, performances and sonic experience. Improvisation enables me to intuitively respond to my work throughout, forming a dialogical process without the constraints of pre-determining outcomes. My practice observes the performative behaviour of material using sound and vibration as the primary source. My current research reflects on how listening can re-position the frames of reference that we use to make sense of our experiences.

‘Behaviours’ is part film, part still image detailing the interactivity between charcoal, paper and sound. Charcoal transforms itself into a performer, leaving a trace of itself behind, as it listens and responds to the vibrations of its environment. Simple wave forms are played through a loudspeaker, shaped by the artist, who in turn responds to the movements and patterns displaced on the surface. Conversations are echoed by the frictions between the fibrous and resonant property of charcoal and paper. Both materials reveal a fluidity and tension caused by sound bearing a resemblance to the affects of listening.