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PATRICK FARMER/ DAVID LACEY/ THOMAS MARTIN NUTT «METRE» |
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The SI base units (kilogram, second,
metre, Ampere, mole, candela, and Kelvin) underpin measurement in all science
and technology. In May 2019, the International System of Units inaugurated
the final SI base units' derivation from invariant constants of nature,
quietly heralding a new era of reliability in metrology. «The SI Base Units» is a modular set of
graphic scores by the British artist Thomas Martin Nutt that charts the scale
of the SI base units within the range of human experience, from micro to
mega. The creative space is demarcated between the precision of metrology and
the mutability of meaning. In June 2018, having been lucky enough to obtain a
residency at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh, Ireland, we spent 5 days
walking, eating, and recording. We arrived with minimal equipment and a
handful of scores, and after exploring the town it became evident that
«Metre», by Thomas Martin Nutt, would be a good way to orientate time to
space. Using the score to plot distances for playback and reabsorption, we
recorded the infrasound of passing cruise ships and each note of a carillon
(itself positioned in a tower high above the town, where each bell can travel
the length and breadth of the locale). We utilized these recordings as ways
to further fill space and reach a natural state of collapse, or resonance.
—Patrick Farmer and David Lacey Each copy of «Metre» includes a single CD
containing two recordings by Patrick Farmer and David Lacey and a copy of the
complete score of «The SI Base Units» by Thomas Martin Nutt, which is
presented in a 90-page booklet. |
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Patrick Farmer is the
manager of the Sonic Art Research Unit at Oxford Brookes University and a
curator of the audiograft festival. Farmer has published several books and
written compositions for the Extradition Series and the Set Ensemble. A
monaural artist, he is part of an AHRC funded project, Tinnitus, Auditory
Knowledge and the Arts, and has recently had essays published online by Futch
Press and Socrates on the Beach.
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David Lacey is a musician from Dublin,
Ireland, working at the intersection between improvisation and composition.
He uses percussion, objects, field recordings, cassettes, and crude
electronics as well as making studio constructions. He has performed and
recorded with musicians such as Rhodri Davies, Keith Rowe, Annette Krebs, and
Derek Bailey. Current projects include Rainfear (with David Donohoe), duo
collaborations with Patrick Farmer and Andrew Fogarty, and the Reception
concert series, which he organizes with composers Rob Casey and Conal Ryan. He
has been featured on releases from labels such as Another Timbre, Caduc,
Confront, Copy for your Records, Fort Evil Fruit, and Room Temperature. |
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Thomas Martin
Nutt is a British
artist with an interest in sound and language. He is currently researching
relationships between auditory and visual perception and new ways of
employing the primary devices with which we write music. He lives and works
in Japan.
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