Matthew Venn » installation

standing waves – an interactive installation

matthew venn — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:38:29 +0000

I’m working with Martina Sprenghart (fashion photographer) to produce an installation for her latest work.

The exhibition is in in the Mall Galleries: 17 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5BD http://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/. Please come along on the 10th. Feb. between 15:00 – 20:00.

Click the photo to see the story of the installation’s development.

laser tripwire

matthew venn — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:46:09 +0000

I made a laser tripwire for Fluxx theatre company. The system was installed at the Soho Theatre.

Chris wanted something that would be interactive and amusing for the audience. As the audience entered the space to sit down, they broke the invisible tripwire and a random farmyard or DIY sample was played over the PA.

Here’s what they said:

MATTHEW VENN is an inventive and industrious artist exploring a range of approaches to improvisation. His particular skils in working with technology allowed him to create a unique laser-based interactive device for use during Fluxx’s ten-year anniversary series of shows at the Soho Theatre in 2008. The device – generating sounds triggered by movements of spectators – proved a great hit.

first exhibition of audible photos!

matthew venn — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:09:36 +0000

The first outing of audible photo frames is happening on the 29th June at Chisenhale dance space. The photos are of improvised performances from the last few months of “Sunday Surprises” – a performance event celebrating cross-art form improvisation.

Right now the system uses pedals to trigger the sounds, and we are not using illuminating photo frames. When we have hired the system a few times I will add the illuminating frames.

If you are interested in using the system or collaborating on a new project, please contact me!

audible photo frames

matthew venn — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:37:28 +0000

A cross between an interactive installation and a traditional photo exhibition – audible photo frames combine bright and vivid images with contextual sound. This new way of exhibiting photos gives the photographer or visual artist new opportunities to explore the world of sound and image combined.

Transparencies or collages are temporarily laminated between 2 sheets of glass and then mounted over electroluminescent sheet. This new material gives a bright and uniform illumination of the photo.

When the photo frame is touched, it plays a sound recording before illuminating the photo. The first photographer booked to use this system is Shawn Ballentine – who has taken a lot of photos of performance. The actual sound that was recorded on the night will be linked with the photo to give great context to the experience. As an exhibitor using the system, you can use your own samples or field recordings. Alternatively I can create custom electronic soundscapes.

While not in use, the computer system can randomly illuminate various frames and play segments of the recorded audio, inviting an audience to get involved with the exhibition.

If you are interested in hiring this system for your own installation, please contact me at matt