Made to Malfunction refers to the concept of planned obsolescence, a characteristic of all consumer products. These products are designed to have a limited lifespan, eventually failing and compelling consumers to replace or ‘upgrade’ them.
The work explores energies and systems with unpredictable elements, such as natural forces and malfunctioning devices—those that produce non-regular, non-musical rhythms. Featuring a collection of sound-making devices constructed from discarded electronic product parts, each device is presented in its own display case, inviting viewers to (re-)consider these objects as valuable or of great interest.
This work has been presented in Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, South Korea; Openarts Space MERGE?, Busan, South Korea; In Vitrø, LOXOSConcept, Matera, Italy; Electric Spring, University of Huddersfield, UK.
“Made to Malfunction” was created with full support from the Creators-in-Lab residency 2018 with Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, South Korea.
Since 2005 Simon Whetham has developed a practice of working with sonic activity as a material for creation. He often uses environmental sound, employing a variety of methods and techniques in order to obtain often unnoticed and obscured sonic phenomena. He explore ways of creating physical traces of sound, and of channelling and transforming energy, most recently salvaging and repurposing obsolete consumer technology.
He performs and exhibits internationally, participating in Sonica Festival, 28.MFRU, phonon~festival, Fresh Winds Biennale, Nakanojo Biennale, ACC Showcase, Tsonami Festival, Madeiradig and Moers Festival; has a large number of published works; and regularly collaborates with artists of other disciplines.
He has received a number of commissions and awards including:
2020: Arts Council England grant to develop studio works
2017: British Council supported participation in Tsonami Festival in Chile
2009: Grants from Arts Council England and PRS for Music to curate and organise the cultural
exchange project ‘Active Crossover’
2007: Grant from Arts Council England to attend the Mamori Sound Project, Amazonas, Brazil
Website
www.simonwhetham.co.uk
Instagram
www.instagram.com/simonwhetham
Made to Malfunction refers to the concept of planned obsolescence, a characteristic of all consumer products. These products are designed to have a limited lifespan, eventually failing and compelling consumers to replace or ‘upgrade’ them.
The work explores energies and systems with unpredictable elements, such as natural forces and malfunctioning devices—those that produce non-regular, non-musical rhythms. Featuring a collection of sound-making devices constructed from discarded electronic product parts, each device is presented in its own display case, inviting viewers to (re-)consider these objects as valuable or of great interest.
This work has been presented in Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, South Korea; Openarts Space MERGE?, Busan, South Korea; In Vitrø, LOXOSConcept, Matera, Italy; Electric Spring, University of Huddersfield, UK.
“Made to Malfunction” was created with full support from the Creators-in-Lab residency 2018 with Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, South Korea.
Since 2005 Simon Whetham has developed a practice of working with sonic activity as a material for creation. He often uses environmental sound, employing a variety of methods and techniques in order to obtain often unnoticed and obscured sonic phenomena. He explore ways of creating physical traces of sound, and of channelling and transforming energy, most recently salvaging and repurposing obsolete consumer technology.
He performs and exhibits internationally, participating in Sonica Festival, 28.MFRU, phonon~festival, Fresh Winds Biennale, Nakanojo Biennale, ACC Showcase, Tsonami Festival, Madeiradig and Moers Festival; has a large number of published works; and regularly collaborates with artists of other disciplines.
He has received a number of commissions and awards including:
2020: Arts Council England grant to develop studio works
2017: British Council supported participation in Tsonami Festival in Chile
2009: Grants from Arts Council England and PRS for Music to curate and organise the cultural
exchange project ‘Active Crossover’
2007: Grant from Arts Council England to attend the Mamori Sound Project, Amazonas, Brazil
Website
www.simonwhetham.co.uk
Instagram
www.instagram.com/simonwhetham
