Sean Dower was active with several bands in the UK industrial music scene in the early 1980s, and then worked with the radical performance art group Bow Gamelan Ensemble in the late 1980s. Since then he has continued to work with music and sound, making live performances, electronic music, videos and sculptural sound installations.
Surprise encounters with sound, emanating from open windows in the town of Spoleto.
<open window> 2021 Map of walking route around Spoleto
Sean Dower Percussion (2021) 7'52"
Sound emerges from an open first floor window. The recording (a cascade of waterdrops resonating
inside a galvanized metal drainpipe) at first sounds like repetitive noise, however a closer listen reveals
complex underlying structure and resonances. The public discoverered the sound by accident or by
following a map available from local shops and kiosks. Curated by Nyla van Ingen and Myriam Laplante, photos by Serafino Amato.
A thin laser-beam travels above head height across a gallery space and strikes a speaker mounted on
on the wall opposite. The speaker has a small mirror mounted on its surface, which redirects the laser
beam round a corner and onto the surface of a large wall-moumted photograph. Electronic frequencies
play through the speaker and cause the mirror to vibrate. An indexical moving pattern of light projects
onto a photograph of a neolithic standing stone, taken by the artist in 1983 in Avebury, Wiltshire.
Ground Control, 2010 (installed at Netwerk Center, Aalst Belgium) Car, fluorescent paint, LF soundtrack, bass speakers and UV Black light (dimensions variable)
See details of Musik für Barbaren und Klassiker at Netwerk Center for Contemporary Art, Belgium
1513 A Ships Opera featured a maritime orchestra of historic steam whistles, foghorns, sirens,
hooters, the guns of HMS Belfast and a set of navigation bells loaned by Trinity House.
The Ships Opera took place in the Pool of London, on the River Thames between Tower Bridge and
London Bridge and featured a flotilla of historic boats, including 3 steam ships, a lighthouse vessel,
a 19th Century sailing ship and HMS Belfast. Many of the vessels made their way up from the
Thames Estuary, sounding their horns en-route and picking up other vessels along the way. Once
Tower Bridge was raised, the boats entered the Pool of London and the performance began.
There was no theatrical narrative to the performance, which was more like a series of sustained,
accidental moments whose sounds permeated throughout the City of London.
Listen to an 8 minute sound recording here, courtesy of the London Sound Survey
33⅓ rpm - Performance for record turntable, loop effect pedal and 34 vinyl records
33⅓ RPM - performed at Kabinet Múz, Brno, Czech Republic 2017
More information about 33⅓ RPM in the Nov. 2018 issue ofTHE BROOKLYN RAIL
33⅓ RPM - performed at Zapp Magazine Club Night, Cinetol Amsterdam 2019
In the exhibition 'A Conversation along the Highway of Brotherhood and Unity' 2017, the
Parabolic Sound Reflector was positioned diagonally opposite the work 'UVB-76'.
The directional sound from 'UVB-76' and other sounds in the space were reflected back in
an uncanny way that disoriented the viewer's perception of sound. Click herefor other works with sound at Dom Omladine, Belgrade.
'UVB-76' is a thin, electrostatic speaker with a vibrant printed surface of red circles
with thin, light blue borders. The pattern is based on a design for radio speaker baffles.
The speaker emits highly directional sound and its orientation can be 'fine-tuned' by
hinges that attach it to the wall. The sound is drawn from short-wave radio transmissions
including a soviet signal called UVB-76 or 'The Buzzer'.
The Mobile DJ (2012 remix) builds on previous collaborations between Guy Bar Amotz and Sean Dower
The work exists as an installation and includes video, sound, props and a 'live' lightshow.
The Mobile DJ is the name of a toy keyboard instrument, programmed with generic samples and
sounds. The installation explores the idea of performance artefacts and residual presences.
NOISES - 2013 6 unique sculptures with 6 engraved plastic signs on oak stands
Above: Noises #1, 2013 (64 x 12 x 4.5 cm)
The order of signs can be altered to suit various imagined narratives.
Work
may sit on a surface or be wall mounted.
Each of the 6 versions is unique - see right for index.
WHOOSH - 2013
Click image below for slideshow
WHOOSH - 2013 (onomatopoeic sound work for lift shaft)
Permanent installation in the lift-shaft of Hotel El Ganzo, Puerto Los Cabos, Mexico Fluorescent ink screenprint on aluminium panels. 110 x 110cm (5 pieces)
Sketch for 'WHOOSH', 2013
Enochian Sound Reflectors - 2012
Enochian Sound Reflectors, 2012 (click images to enlarge) Each panel 59 x 55 x 10cm
Acoustic reflectors are used in the recording industry, concert halls and other architectural
settings to diffuse sound. Rather than absorb sound, they break up reflections using complex,
three-dimensional surfaces. These 4 panels are made of a hard gypsum and acrylic resin and
their design is based the Enochian tablets of Elizabethan alchemist, Dr John Dee.
Using an algorithm of numeric equivalents, Dr Dee's Enochian alphabet was translated into
cubic blocks between 1 and 9cm high. Each panel has a different configutration and the work
explores modernist notions of functionality alongside more historic and esoteric references such
as Kurt Schwitter's Merzbau and alchemical process.
This work is dedicated to the late American composer Jerry Hunt.
Enochian Sound Reflectors, 2012
Four cast acrylic relief panels (122 x 114 x 10cm)
Spectral Analysis - 2012
Spectral Analysis, 2012
Printed electrostatic speakers, soundtrack, hanging mechanisms and foam
122 x 122 cm (each speaker: 550 x 550 x 3 mm)
A colour photograph taken by the artist of Samye monastery (the oldest Buddhist monastery
in Tibet) was subject to two forms of spectral analysis. Firstly the image was broken down
into the four constituent colours of CMYK and printed onto the surface of thin electrostatic
speakers. The original photograph was also scanned using spectral analysis software to convert its colours and tones into sound.
Electrostatic speakers are extremely directional and project sound in a detailed and uncanny
way. In the exhibition The Voyeur, the sound was directed at the ‘Enochian Sound Reflectors’
across the space and the ghostly sound emanating from the speaker surface formed part of
an overall soundtrack to the exhibition.
Spectral Analysis, 2012
Four printed electrostatic speakers with sound (120 x 120 cm)
Shaking Cabinet - 2012
Shaking Cabinet uses a powerful bass speaker whose sound is tuned to trigger the resonant
frequencies of a steel cupboard and its contents. The low frequency soundtrack periodically
causes the cabinet to shake, rattle and bang, catching the unsuspecting viewer off-guard.
Shaking Cabinet, 2012
Steel cupboard, bass speaker, amplifier and soundtrack. 180 x 91 x 40 cm
click images to enlarge St Simeon's Drum Riser, 2012
Wooden pallets, platform, percussion instruments, cctv system
450 x 100 x 120cm
St Simeon's Drum Riser is tower of wooden pallets with a cramped performance space on top.
A live cctv link relays an image of the small, impossibly high performance space to a monitor.
During The Voyeur exhibtion, the artist undertook 3 improvised peformances on this platform,
activating the installation using a variety of percussion instruments.
St Simeon of Stylites was a 5th century Christian ascetic who reputedly lived on top of a tall
column for 37 years in what is now Aleppo in Syria. His motivation was questioned by the
church at the time, but it turned out he was more likely in search of isolation, rather than
implying that he was above anyone else. By exaggeration, St Simeon's Drum Riser questions
the hierarchical relationship between audience and performer.
The Ultimate Brown Sound Record (released by the artist in 2010) was played at loud volume
on loop for 1hour in the darkened space of Gallery Vela in London W1.
The audience loved it, the neighbours complained.
Click images to enlarge
Often featuring guest musicians, Bag of Blood emerge from the putrid landscape of waste
incineration and scrap recycling found between the cracks of South London's railway arteries.
Bag of Blood performed at Richard Strange's Cabaret Apocalyptica for 'Late at Tate' on 04.11.11
Performance by Bag of Blood in the 'Pre-Raphaelites' gallery at Tate Britain in 2011
Donder op Dender (A Blizzard of Noise) at Netwerk Centre Belgium - 2010 With Steve Noble, Richard Wilson and Sean Dower
Performance at Netwerk Centre, with percussion, steam whistles, caskaphones, steel marimbas, cymbals, gongs, air hooters, pyrophones,sirens, rattles, and pyrotechnics.
A Blizzard of Noise (Donder op Dender) 2010 - A Bag of Blood production
Above: Sean Dower on pyrophone, Richard Wilson on hand cranked siren.
Performance at The Cornelius Foundation, Lagamas France - 2013 Click for edited video of performance on 24.08.13
The performance was constructed using locally sourced materials whilst on a residency at the
Cornelius Foundation in rural Languedoc. A variety of instruments and sound producing devices
were woven into a 24 minute performance combined with pyrotechnics and other visual effects.
Instruments used for the performance included a cement mixer, tuned vibraphones, gongs,
chimes, pyrophones, resonant steel sheets, pyrotechic projectiles and explosions.
Live Noise Transmission: Monomania Festival, Cambridge UK - 2014
Live Noise Transmission - sealed performance space
Live Noise Transmission - sound system installation space
A performance with acoustic instruments took place in a sealed room with windows. Sound and
video were transmitted live to an adjascent space with video monitor, electrostatic speakers, bass
speakers, platform, lights and foliage. More information, images and video
Monomania Festival was a festival of 'solitary and obsessive creativity' in Cambridge UK
The Horns of Dilemma - 2009 (live in Paris) Click photo for more images and information
The Horns of Dilemma - the set
Röck - The Horns of Dilemma (Sean Dower + Bernard Elsmere) 2009
Presented by: Hello my name is Bill at Galerie Erich Mircher, Paris.
Ghost Drummer, London - 2008
Ghost Drummer - video excerpts - 4 min. (WARNING - strobe lighting)
Performance at Neu Galleries, Redchurch Street - Shoreditch 2008
Ghost Drummer performed for several hours in the window of the darkened exhibition space.
Passers by gathered outside to experience the surreal and unanounced phenomenon, which
accompanied the exhibition Brown Noise at the same gallery.
Automaton is an elegently choreographed continuous tracking shot around a black and
chrome drum kit, following a dynamic drum performance by percussionist, Steve Noble.
Filmed using the Viper HD FilmStream system and motion control technology.
7x7 (above) took place on Richard Wilson's Slice of Reality in 2004
Seven performers and seven sequences, including Paul Burwell, z'ev, Anne Bean, Sean Dower,
Ansuman Biswas, Project Dark and Richard Wilson.
Audio Addiction (above) an evening of performance at Delfina Studios, London 2005
With Guy Bar-Amotz, Sean Dower, Natsuki Uruma, Richard Wilson and z'ev.
Music in Trees - 2004
Music in Trees, 2004 (dimensions variable)
The complete recorded works of the Triffids and David McComb on cassette tape, unwound
and tangled in a lonely tree.
Exhibited in A Temporary Monument to David McComb at STUK Leuven, Belgium.
See also Drawing:Welbeck Court / Triffid Court
Music in Trees, 2004
Approximately 400m of cassette tape was unwound and tangled in a tree.
The tape glistened and rustled in the wind and rain and a single line of the tape trailed
upwards and through the second floor window of STUK into a cassette inside the gallery.
Mochilero backpacks by Guy Bar Amotz - videos and sound Sean Dower.
The videos and sound were recorded at night in a tropical forest in Sri-Lanka. The cacophony of
sounds were transmitted through the backpack speakers of Guy Bar Amotz during the exhibition. Information at Netwerk Center website.
The Mochilero backpack speakers were incorporated into a live performance using insect
sounds and the Mobile DJ (a pre-programmed electronic toy-instrument).
See video directly on Vimeo
Audiopathology - 2001
Audiopathology 2001 (Exhibited at W139 Gallery Amsterdam)
5 videos, total running time 22 mins. Installation dimensions variable.
Five music videos with sound and image made concurrently by the artist. Exhibited in a specially
constructed space with sound insulation and safety lights.
Entrance to Audiopathology at W139 Gallery Amsterdam 2001
I Want to Dance 2001 - Video with sound, 5.43 min. Lyrics by Charles Gaines, music and video by Sean Dower, vocals by Georgina Starr.
I want to dance was produced for 'Song Poems', curated by artist Steven Hull. The project involved
collaboration between about 100 writers, musicians, video makers and graphic artists and resulted in
exhibitions and performances in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.
A box-set of CDs and artwork was also published - more information on Discogs
A series of photographs and digital audio recordings made at specific sites across London.
The recordings reflect localised sound culture and its interaction with architecture, technology
and the natural world. Originally commissioned for Code #2 (edited by Waling Boers).
Other sites included Blackfriars (#1), Brixton (#2), Camden (#3),
Chelsea (#4), Hackney (#5), Bermondsey (#6), Portabello (#8),
Regents Park (#9) and Whitechapel (#10) - more info here
Hot Music - 1993
Toy instrument played in Hot Music
Hot Music, 1993. Video with sound. 4 mins (looping)
Filmed in a single take, the artist walks on set and climbs onto a white plinth before making
a live performance to camera. The artist mimes to the shifting patterns of a toy drum machine,
which is manipulated live, as an invisible, but spatially consistent drum kit is mapped out.
Generally exhibited on a white monitor on white a plinth, ‘Hot Music’ has also been performed live. View video here >
Hot Music was published in Zapp Magazine, issue #3 October 1994
Exhibited at Anthony d'Offay Gallery, London 1996 and MOMA New York 1998
Hot Music performance in Amsterdam - 1994
Live performance at 'Infinity Cha-Cha' - Amsterdam 1994
For this performance (and the related 'Hot Music' video), the artist learnt the pre-recorded patterns
on a toy drum-machine, and mimed live to the patterns on a spatially consistent, but invisible drum
kit. The video also features Christiaan Zwanikken and Michael Raedecker as the 'drivers'.
Next Door - 1991
Next Door, 1991
Drinking glass, speaker, jack lead, cotton wool and soundtrack
8 x 8 x 12cm
Next Door, 1991 - video with sound (1 min excerpt)
Bow Gamelan Ensemble. 1988 - 1992
The set for A Damn Near Run Thing at London’s South Bank Centre 1988.
Dower performed with The Bow Gamelan from
1988 to 1992. The Bow Gamelan Ensemble was
founded in 1883 by artists Richard Wilson, Anne Bean and Paul Burwell. They made large scale
audio-visual spectacles that fused performance, sound, pyrotechnics and sculpture.
Archive video of A Damn Near Run Thing - 1988.
A Damn Near Run Thing was produced for the South Bank Centre 'Sounds Unusual' festival
The Navigators 1989. Waterman's Arts centre on the Thames at low tide.
Dazzle painting design by Sean Dower. The Ketford barge was restored for The Navigators, a series
of live performances by the Bow Gamelan on the Thames, from Bow in East London to Richmond
in the West. The performers lived and worked on board for several months.
The Ketford with instruments, in preparation for performance at London's South Bank Centre.
Experiments with 2 kinetic sound sculptures, Basle - 1991
Video shot in Basle, Switzerland whilst on tour with the Bow Gamelan.
The aluminium bowl was subsequently used in unique performances by the artist.
Aluminium bowl, motor and bottle tops, Basle 1991
The Curfew Recordings - 1984
The Curfew Recordings were made at a disused industrial site on the river Tyne.
The Curfew Recordings -1984
Recorded at a disused industrial site on the river Tyne in 1984 - featuring John Smith
(publisher of Interchange magazine), Sean Dower (ex Death Magazine 52) and John Mylotte
(of Metgumnerbone).
The Curfew Recordings were made inside a steel-plated cylindrical structure once used for
bitumen storage in the armaments industry. The instruments were acoustic and the space
added a supernatural reverb. Instruments included: bull roarers, spirit whistles, human thy-bone
trumpet, chimes, gongs, flutes, drums, projectiles, scraped and bowed objects and other materials
including glass, metal, bones and wood.
Recordings from these sessions circulated informally on cassette tape and in 2013 a digital
release on CD was made available.
Between 1982-84 Death Magazine 52 made live performances using tapes, electronics, percussion
and super-8 films. The noisy and physical performances often provoked extreme audience reactions.
The band also made a number of recordings.
Flyer for the Equinox Event, London Musician's Collective 1983.
Death Magazine 52 performed at the Equinox Event, a festival of noise music at the London Musicians
Collective in Camden. The chaotic day-long event was dogged by violence and complaints about the
noise from local residents. There were many changes to the planned line up and things got more
fractious as the day went on. A fight broke out when Death Magazine 52 took to the stage and a police
raid halted the event shortly after. An archival recording of the aftermath of the raid is included on the D.Mag 52 vinyl release on Harbinger Sound from 2012.
2012 Archive release: Death Magazine 52 - double vinyl disc on Harbinger Sound
Sleeve notes: "These recordings capture the core group and its floating membership
at various stages of their existence. Recordings from the studio sessions and live sets,
including playing to a a school hall full of teenage girls at 3pm one afternoon, and as
the final band to play at the legendary Equinox Event before the plugs got pulled and
the police arrived. The recordings are of a raw nature and should be considered as
historical documentation".
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