In Our Name: The Commons Project

Adam Art Gallery Public Programme March - May 2011

In Our Name: The Commons Project

Annea Lockwood (New York)

Peter McLeavey Gallery, 147 Cuba Street

Wednesday 27 April 2011, 11am-5pm

Free entry

Although Annea Lockwood was born in New Zealand, she is better-known internationally for her performative explorations into the rich world of natural acoustic sounds and environments. The Adam Art Gallery, in facilitating her return visit to New Zealand, has invited her to present an installation at the Peter McLeavey Gallery, Wellington.

Entitled The Sound Map of the Housatonic River the installation articulates her fascination with the multi-layered complexity of sounds created by fast flowing rivers. Presenting an alternative sonic map this work traces the course of the Housatonic River, from the sources in the Berkshire Mountains to the river's mouth at Milford, Long Island Sound. The piece follows the river by recording both the surface and underwater sites of the riverbed, in turn alluding to the inevitable changes that are occurring to the natural environment.

Lockwood's sound installation is part of the In Our Name: The Commons Project, a series of performances which seek to establish an experience of 'common ground' within the fabric of Wellington city. Through a belief in art's potential, particularly the pervasive and popular medium of sound, the project aims to occupy public architectural sites and enable new community formations.

Annea Lockwood was born in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1939 and moved to England in 1961 to study composition at the Royal College of Music, London. She attended summer classes at Darmstadt, The Netherlands and completed her studies in electronic music with Gottfried Michael Koenig. During the 1960s she collaborated with sound poets, choreographers and visual artists, and also created a number of works such as the Glass Concerts which initiated her lifelong fascination with timbre and new sound sources.

During the 1970s and 1980s she turned her attention to performance works focused on environmental sounds and narratives, often using low-tech devices. Since the early 1990s, she has written for a number of ensembles and solo performers, often incorporating electronics and visual elements. More recent exhibitions at public galleries, museums and festivals include: Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona; Sonic Acts XIII, Amsterdam; Other Minds Festival, San Francisco; Walker Art Center, Los Angeles; Donaufest, Ulm, Germany; Donau Festival Krems, Austria; Totally Huge New Music Festival and Ruined Piano Convergence, Perth, and The Ear To The Earth Festival, New York.

We acknowledge the generous support of Wellington City Council through its Cultural Grant Funding Programme towards the realisation of this project.

Adam Art Gallery

Victoria University of Wellington

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