critical senses

whether or not

2012-01-24T06:09:00.044+11:00

...i like it, right now is a time of change.

i didn't choose it, but that is often what happens in life - events are out of your control. if choices had been offered, i might have pulled my stripey socks up, packed my bags and reconfigured my life in a way that i ultimately know (now) is a much better one for me.

perhaps there is something though, in returning to past spaces, taking a trip down memory lane, only to realise that it isn't the same lane you remember at all. it is no longer bathed in the rose-coloured hues you once thought it was (and perhaps it was back then, but no longer). turning around and taking that step back there does help in the end, because ultimately it helps you realise how far you have come. how you have grown since those days, and once you actually face your demons - those little voices in your head that tell you everyone will remember you as someone that you no longer are not (and yes, people do remember you as that person, but you can correct them) - by staring them down, they shrink down to a more miniature version that is completely manageable.

imagination is an amazing thing. it allows you to dream futures, utopias and new worlds. on the flipside though, if you let it get the better of you, those over inflated demons who you've completely resurrected from the ghostly past seem far more real and tangible. until, that is, you take a stick, poke them and realise they're made up of nothing more than your fears.

and the funny thing about fears (well, its probably not funny), but that's all that they are. fears. they're not this moment. they're just something that sits in front of you taunting you that they could realise themselves in the next moment. whether they do or not - in my case, a big fear of mine came into being (perhaps because i voiced it out aloud, rather than seeing it as only a fear and of no real consequence) - there is a life that continues afterwards. perhaps not the one that my beautiful imagination had conjured up and hoped for, but there are other people to interact with, other friends to see, other conversations to have, other paths to be explored and adventures to have, and other soundtracks.

because once you turn again to face forward, you can then realise how far you have come since those days of your rose-tinted past, how you've grown (into the person you are right this very minute) and how you have the ability to (yes, imagine) but also take sure steps to make sure the future is one that you want it to be.

step towards the future

2012-01-23T07:47:00.047+11:00

it is a very poignant question that was posed to me recently: "why can't you leave the past in the past"? at the time my response (which damn well needed to be far more considered) was "because it is part of my present". by which i meant: i have returned to a city that holds many memories for me - many that i thought i had forgotten in the recent years that i hadn't been living in this city. however, upon returning, the sights, sounds and smells, the same architecture, seasons and stirrings of the city brought these memories rushing back to me on a daily basis. those paths that i had trodden so many times, so many layered stories there, that despite me beginning to build a new (albeit temporary) life in this city, reminded me of those many times in the past. some incredibly formative moments of my life, that have - whether for better or for worse - forged parts of who i am today. while i thought i had done many things over the past couple of years, and that i am a much stronger person, those memories too, were really quite strong.

returning to the question though, of why i haven't been able to leave all of my past in my past, to be completely honest, i haven't brought myself fully face to face with it - till the last few months and really till now. while i've been working through many things over the last seven years, there are just some things that, whether i was aware of it or not (many things i wasn't) i just haven't sat myself down, given myself the space and taken a good hard look at those experiences. the last of them that popped out into my present needed sorting through in terms of what i have learned from these previous moments of my life, and placed them carefully and graciously in a location where i can appreciate those good times and learn from the difficult ones. i had begun to do this (in fact quite a lot over the past 18 months), but whatever efforts i was making, weren't hardcore enough.

instead, i let these shadows infiltrate my present in a way that damaged something very special to me. as a result, i have some significant regrets - and that is something that i have tried to live my life without. i have tried to live as honestly and truthfully to myself (and to others) as i possibly can, and to not regret having done or not done something. so regret is something that is not a particularly familiar feeling. it is a bit of a newcomer to my life, and not a very welcome one.

my regret, in one way, takes the form of having not really come to know myself well enough so that i can catch myself if i think i might be starting to head down the wrong path for me in physical, mental and metaphorical senses. and while i think that there are several paths that can be traversed - often consecutively - i find that i have the tendency to prioritise work paths over personal paths. for some reason, out of a sense of retaining my reputation in a work capacity, i rarely step away entirely away from a situation, or demand that it is configured in a way that better suits me or my well being. i feel duty-bound to make whatever i'm doing happen, despite the impossibility of a situation or the fact it might not play out well for my sense of self or indeed my overall health. as a result, the stress that i take onboard to make something happen is sometimes well beyond what i'm capable of delivering. this means that i haven't been able to treat myself well or take care of myself properly, and this is in turn transferred to others. so much so, that sometimes they choose to walk away. that is a big blow.

a wake-up call such as this one i am experiencing right now is a big deal indeed. and these are very big lessons to take on board, some of which are:
* knowing yourself well enough so that you know when you're heading down the wrong path
* making sure that you're always able to re-negotiate situations to make them work in more constructive ways
* always taking the time to assess the situation, basically, like a regular checking of the temperature gauge
* working as thoroughly as you can through your shit before entering new situations so as not to hurt or affect others, especially those closest to you

what now for me? well one of the things that i can do is listen quite intently to that question that was posed (i'm sure it was said many times previously, i just didn't hear it being said before, and it needed the dramatic delivery before i would really look up and pay attention). that question was demanded for a reason, and for my future wellbeing, it is imperative that i now address it.

so now, i am preparing to leave my past behind and step into my future.

i'm sure this will take more focus, energy and commitment than i can conceive that it will, but i can't continue to allow my past shit to damage myself or anyone else that steps into my life. i no longer want past fears to erode anything that i might have in the future, and i need to face these fears head on. basically, i've had enough of my own shit.

i won't run from it, i won't hide it (or i wouldn't be blogging about it) and i have to have the courage to face it. Why?

because ultimately i need to be the best person that i can be and truly deserve to become. while life might be incredibly tough right now, i want my future to be spectacular. i want to be open to opportunities for adventure, new directions, friendship, intimacy and perhaps again even real love.

i know that i have the capacity to give and offer these things listed here, in very deep and meaningful ways, and i don't want any of the fears of the past to trip me up again in the future - so that i can deliver on the things that i am capable of offering, and so that these same things can also be delivered to me in ways that i can really accept and appreciate them.

what i do know, is that if i don't know myself well enough, i won't support myself in ways that allow me to be the best possible person that i can be for myself and for whoever is part of my life in the future. part of this process is really facing my past, and even though i've done these things before, really giving it my all to say to some of those people, events and experiences from back then and long ago - thankyou, i love you and goodbye.

dreams, goals and otherwise

2012-01-19T07:11:00.010+11:00

when you go through a massive and sudden change in life, all your dreams are thrown up into the air. like a pack of cards on a windy day, the gusts pick them up and scatter them in all directions. as you rush around trying to catch them, some are blown out of your reach, and some you can't seem to locate at all.

for me, many of my dreams were pretty well close by, but they were still goals that had yet to be actualised. all i thought i needed was one last chance to get one last opportunity up my sleeve. this delay, this side-step, wasn't worth it.

ever since i was a little kid i've always wanted to live in europe. in 2007/2008 i managed to spend a year living there and when i realised then that i had to return to australia for reasons that were, at the time out of my control, it is no secret that several were tears shed.

when i left europe, i was lucky enough to be thrown a life-line, a way back to the place where my heart has always felt like it belonged. yet life happened and i was delayed for too long; incredibly stressful work, an injury that completely baffled professionals (i'm only told this now), and then the need to raise the mulah in order to launch me back onto the path of my desire.

seems the universe had other plans for me, and i'm not entirely sure why right now i have to be on this path, rather than that of my dreams, hopes and desires. yet i still believe in those fundamentals, that ultimately i'm supposed to be out there in the world.

funny thing was, i tried to set up a home in an apartment rather than just a base (perhaps this is what the universe and i didn't agree on at the time, and now i see that the universe knows me better than i know myself). now that i'm living out of a backpack again a little more frequently, it seems more natural. more in harmony with how i should be in the world. it's familiar. and now that i can walk (and even dance) again, i can haul that heavy backpack (containing anything i might just need at any moment) onto my back, and i set off. mobility, transit and the sense of adventure that comes with it are the things that bring warmth into my soul.

yet while i'm here (at least part of the time), i might as well make the most of it, utilising the resources that i have at hand - a whole research library at the tip of my fingers might just hold the clues to the map. to be honest, while i'm here this also means rather than just being spooked, i have to finish clearing my ghostly skeletons out of the closet. so perhaps i am actually meant to be back here to finish the job off, once and for all.

in the longer term tho, i can't and won't let myself give up on those dreams and goals. they might not eventuate in the way i had hoped for. some of those cards seem out of my grasp... all i can do is wonder how the future will evolve.

how do you shine in your darkest hour?

2012-01-18T07:31:00.000+11:00

this is a very good question indeed. and perhaps it is necessary for everyone to hit the bottom at least once in their life. while at this point in my life, i have stumbled pretty hard (come a cropper infact), i am trying to see it as a gift - giving me the time and space in order to build my life up from scratch. like lego blocks - carefully selecting them and then connected each together and this time around actually checking that each of the blocks are the ones that i really need in my life, and that the connections are super-solid, so that i have the durability and resilience to take whatever comes.

the way that i've arrived here isn't easy, but it probably wasn't meant to be. otherwise, i wouldn't have really stopped in my tracks and listened to what i was being called on. something needed to make me stand still, and whilst i was working through the various suitcases of metaphorical baggage, piece by piece, what i probably needed to do was to take some time out, shut and the door, and do a massive spring clean. and so it seems that universe has delivered me just what i need: the space to do this. even if the universe has taken away my most valued aspect of my life, it has ultimately given me what i probably really need, whether i like it or not.

for the past year i've felt i've had the weight of the world sitting heavily on my shoulders, and now that some of the intensity of this has been taken away, despite the challenging situation i find myself in, i do feel a little lighter. for me that weight of responsibility and unseemingly resolvable situation plays out as depression. this for myself happens when i'm feeling trapped or stuck in a particular situation, as if it is never going to change or resolve. but i sometimes forget that everything changes, every moment in life is just that, and change is constant. now that pressure has been taken off, and i can make decisions for myself, i don't feel wedded to the decisions that i've made (even though i felt like i was making them for the right reasons at the time), and i can begin to shake some of this depression off.

of course i feel intensely sad about the way in which the sudden change in my life has come about, but this is a different kind of sadness. the depression i felt came with taking a particular parth, and one i felt i had to travel down for too long - now this is no longer necessary.

while i might not get to live in the places i hoped i would in the future, or with the people i honestly thought i would share my life with forever, there are some parts of me that are starting to feel a little more free. with every intensely black hour is a glimmer of light that comes from what sometimes seems like a black hole. at least with lives, black holes are not infinite and never last forever. that is something very important to remember, especially if we are willing to shift things and make changes.

and so, what i have to remind myself of constantly, is that every moment is temporary, everything changes, and i have to appreciate the things that i have immediately around me because in the future moment, it will all shift again.

so keeping this in mind, it is now the time to start re-imagining my future, with the knowledge that everything comes and goes and the belief that a far better life will emerge from this time.

all i needed was a holiday

2012-01-17T07:23:00.005+11:00

december is a weird time of year for me. there is history to it, and unfortunately last year i let it get the better of me. i can usually rein it in (at least to some degree), but there were other far more intense factors at play. it wasn't just that history though, those other factors came in droves, and came together in way that i've never quite experienced in my life before. i know i have a tendency to attract drama, but this time the drama seemed to mold itself into a whole new monstrous form (much like the stink spirit in Miyazaki's Spirited Away) - charging in from all angles & from all aspects of my life: then i cracked.
(how i cracked is definitely not something to be proud of, and again was reminiscent of the stink spirit's purging in the bath house in bottom world...)

now hindsight is that wonderful thing where you realise there were many other ways to approach something. yet, the past cannot be altered. i'm always a believer in a plan B... or through to a plan Z, if necessary. for some reason i had blinkers on, and i saw a single approach as the only solution. or perhaps i didn't see at all...

of course i'm trying to find reasons why i ended up where i did, and it comes down to (at least) two things:
* taking on too much responsibility so as not to have adequate time to think through options and find the best approach
* not taking proper care of myself

these are hard lessons to learn, very hard lessons indeed - especially if there have been negative consequences of not taking these actions previously.

in the pressure cooker of my mind, i felt that i had to be superhuman; to continue to plow through it all - rather than demand time-out for myself, in order to re-strategise.

turns out, all i probably needed was a holiday.

with that space brings some clarity. then its simpler to speak right from the heart, rather than a overwhelmed troubled mind.

my lessons are my lessons to learn alone, but if any of you want to glean something from this, then a few of these lessons i'm having to learn (or perhaps re-learn) are:
* the first solution is not always the right solution
* taking the time for yourself is of utmost importance, otherwise you're of no use to anyone else

so as we edge nearer the start of the year of the dragon, now that all the bunny fur has been singed, yet again, this dragon will breathe a ring of fire around her, setting boundaries for who accesses her space (both physical and headspace) and how they go about it.

here

2012-01-16T13:58:00.001+11:00

i've taken photos of many lost objects over my years of traversing various cities in the world.

what i haven't taken the time to do is to reflect; reflect on the images of the moments that i capture, on my life as it is, on my trajectory. this is a fundamental mistake to make, at least in my case.

life got caught up in a whirlwind, too much work, too few dollars, two timezones, rushing from one thing to the next until an almightly thunderstorm like i've never experienced before. when the hurricane subsided i was forced to stop and look at what remained in the debris.

and what that is that remains, is me. and the things that i bring to the world.

of course i've lost some incredibly special things now. infact, the most precious thing that i've ever had in my life - and that's hard to admit that it was, and that now it is gone.

what throws me, is that usually i know how to somehow make something work - generally gaffer taping it together will do the trick. but, this time through vast amounts of miscommunication and misinterpretation and many things i said, all the while under too much pressure and in the heat of the moment, that i never meant at all, i've managed to turn something that was real into a complete mess. perhaps two cultures and two languages also played their part, though i'm not convinced about that.

i do know if you really truly are in love with a person, then you have to let them follow their dream and their heart, and that is all i have the capacity to do right now.

so, i've made mistakes and taken wrong turns, and i've found myself here.

taking photographs of lost things & starting to write again....

2009 - 2011 - stuff happened

2012-01-01T06:34:00.004+11:00

[some good, some really bad]

liquid architecture 10

2009-04-06T00:49:00.005+10:00

photo: jodi rose

Performing in the Sydney leg of Liquid Architecture 10 in Concert Two - 27th June 2009, Performance Space, Carriage Works, Sydney.

finding - or so i thought

2009-04-04T01:19:00.002+11:00

Somaya Langley & Christian Malejka

Finding
2008
photos: Berlin, Germany & Aegina, Greece

exhibited in Feathering the Nest, run by Garage Openings (Melody Ellis & Sarah Logan) in Yarralumla, Canberra

-----

GARAGE OPENINGS PRESENTS:
feathering the nest (a group mail art exhibition)

Opening Saturday 4 April 2009
6:00 - 8:00pm

66 Hopetoun Circuit Yarralumla ACT

Marc Alperstein
Jonathan Baskett
Zanny Begg
Lauren Brown
Kate Carr
Monica Carroll
Melody Ellis
Marc Freeman
Somaya Langley & Christian Malejka
Sarah Logan
Annette Marie
Paul McGee
Brendon McKinley
Sarah Mosca
Vedanta Nicholson
Kalina Pilat
Francesca Rendle-Short
Spyridon Simotas
Richard Spellman
Alison Spence
Sarah St Vincent Welch
Casey Temby
Nella Themelios
Amy Thompson
Stedman Watts
Zuza Zochowski

and more....

collars

2009-03-27T00:33:00.000+11:00

Exhibition at Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Gorman House

27th March - 2nd May 2009

Opening: 18:00 Friday 27th March, opening speaker Martyn Jolley

Collared

…a collar is a thing that goes around the neck of a person, animal, or object…
Whether it be a crisply starched and ironed collar, a scruffy paint splattered striped pastel collar, or a zebra print shirt dress collar - a seemingly fragile textile fragment exudes a strong personality. A history is presumed, a position is assumed, a performance appropriate to status, wealth and office is expected. Simultaneously obvious and nuanced, the collar is embedded with wide cultural knowledge and reveals quirky sub-cultural significance.

Alexandra Gillespie and Somaya Langley’s collaborative exhibition of twenty highly individual collars are presented at the actual height of the previous owner from neck to feet. Arranged spatially in conversational groups, these highly fetishised personal adornments create an absent crowd, a crowd that speaks to both us, and each other, visually and audibly. Here coexistence is paramount as collars internal relationships interweave with the sensibilities of exhibition visitors.

Others such as Rafael Lozano-Hemmer utilise the absent crowd in their work. Standards and Double Standards (2004) creates a brooding and uneasy atmosphere by suspending fifty belts at waist height and having them rotate automatically to follow the movements of audiences in the exhibition space. The singularly unremarkable objects in multiple provoke a sense of surveillance and paternal authority, encouraging visitors to either subvert that authority and play with the movement, or submit to its intent and quickly move themselves on.

Langley’s and Gillespie’s artforms engage us far more intimately and viscerally with phrases garnered from the collars original owners - significant others in the artist’s lives - friends, family, colleagues and other artists. These text snippets are projected from within the textures and patterns that once caressed a treasured ones’ neck. One collar in the group lights up and a corresponding spatialised phrase whispers or reverberates around the room. Then another responds, and another, moving the narrative around the group, then from group to group, with random sequencing ensuring endless associations.

Some, such as the A SECURITY BLANKET green knitted collar, signify an immediate relationship with tightly emotionally bonded text, object and sound. Yet the intriguing yellow cotton of A CHINESE RESTAURANT, or the square embroidery detail on white of PALM TREES, SUN, IN L.A, make us wonder. It is these less obvious connections that extend an open invitation to the exhibition visitor to interweave our own memories and linkages within the works constantly shifting narrative.

Like the flexible electroluminescent strips slipped between the collars’ fabric layers to emit intimate phrases in cool white light, the artists slip us emotionally and intellectually between the unconscious, the coincidental and the considered. Collars resonates with subtle tales and intense recollections, generating intricate textures of identity and connection from a seemingly simple thing that goes around the neck.

Dr Melinda Rackham
March 2009

The artists would like to acknowledge our sponsors E-Lite and Sun Industries, and to thank Thylacine for the stands, Ben Lippmeier for the programming and Christian Malejka for audio contributions.

We extend our gratitude to the participants: Alessandra Pretto, Antonio Gambale, Caolan Mitchell, Govinda Lange, Jasmine Guffond, Joc Curran, Justine White, Lindsay Bingham, Maria-Eleni Alesandre, Marie-Louise Ayres, Melissa Penrose, Meredith Hughes, Michelle Fix, Nick Mariette, Nicole Leuning, Quentin Mitchell, Rod Gillespie, Rowena Jamieson, Rozi Suliman, Willow Fix Berry

tha ridge

2009-01-04T00:27:00.004+11:00

with a few days off and a laptop that died only a few days prior, i somehow managed to do two gigs at peats ridge festival...

firstly, a daytime ID-i/o performance in collaboration with Queazel (Michael Norris) and Parking Sun (Dan Mackinlay)

photo: christian malejka

and then in the evening, a laptop quartet....

in transit again

2008-11-25T09:19:00.007+11:00

TRANSIT LOUNGE 2009 : MOVING WHILE STANDING STILL

www.transitlounge.org/2009/

...has now been launched, with three conversations between the artists:
Anna Tautfest
Debbie White
Jordana Maisie
Muse-Me (Susanne Wimmer / Nadim Sara / Franziska Schreiber)
Nick Mariette
Gaby Bila-Günther
Steve Smart

dork collars

2008-11-19T19:31:00.002+11:00

DorkbotCBRExhibition_MG_5351.jpg
Originally uploaded by gillespieA

Alexandra Gillespie's and my Collars collaboration project, on exhibition as part of Dorkbot Canberra, held at Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Manuka Gallery - November 2008.

cleaning up online, eh?

2008-10-27T14:53:00.000+11:00

smiling emails

2008-10-21T19:34:00.004+11:00

how nice is it when you receive an email that starts something like:

>to welcome our favourite wandering Australian [1] to Montréal just before some
>of us head of to New York [2]
....
>[1] you know, the one we keep meeting at places such as New York (NIME),
>Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris... ;)

made me smile all day today

last nite

2008-09-21T21:57:00.002+10:00

get some

2008-09-14T17:09:00.002+10:00

see me

2008-09-12T18:26:00.002+10:00

running around...

raiding tha channel

2008-09-01T18:09:00.003+10:00

warehouse party time...

then a few text messages like:
"100 riot police outside"
&
"Cops everwhere. Just got dragged out. People throwing bottles, its going to get nasty i would leave now"

and then the cops roll in

SUBVERSIVE IN CHINA - MAINSTREAM IN ADELAIDE

2008-08-22T12:23:00.001+10:00

graffiti research lab testa
Originally uploaded by somaya

Tuesday 19th August 2008 - news begins to circulate about James
Powderly's detention in Beijing. Since text messages reading "detained since 3am" and "there's 8 of us here, we're all OK", nothing has been heard from them.

James, co-founder of Graffiti Research Lab (GRL) was detained by
Chinese Authorities while preparing an intervention in support of the
Students for a Free Tibet protest. His current whereabouts remain
unknown.

GRL visited Adelaide during the Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts earlier
this year, thanks to Carclew Youth Arts & ANAT's emerging technologies (et) lab, to present the GRL Masterclass - http://grl.anat.org.au/.

Using an updated version of the L.A.S.E.R. Tag system enjoyed by
participants of the lab, general public and even Police officers in
Adelaide, James had planned to "project the message 'Free Tibet' and
additional messages that would have been three-stories high" said
colleague Nathan Dorjeee.

Reports state James and his associates were detained before they were able to use the stencil, although a 'Free Tibet' banner was later
displayed briefly by five other American artists before they too were
detained.

"James has always been dedicated to providing tools for free speech,"
Ms. Michelle Kempner (James' wife) said in an interview with the New
York Times, and later commenting on what can be done to help she
stated, "the best thing is to get attention...just spread the word. We
need to make sure they release them."

Unsurprisingly the blogging community and independent media sources have been rife discussing the issue. Public declarations of "what the hell was he thinking" through to "I'm sure he knew full well what the risks were....all signs suggest the goal was to draw maximum attention to the nature of Chinese repression" suggest that whatever his original intentions he has certainly encouraged debate. Clearly, anyone who can run a class entitled 'Internetfamo.us' at Parsons New School for Design knows a thing or two about utilising today's online social networks.

Meanwhile in Adelaide, the GRL legacy lives on. An innocent
intervention made by lab participants changing the white light of the
North Terrace National War Memorial to a red glow is now to be adopted across the city. Celebrating the 90th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice to end World War I, a number of prominent Adelaide landmarks will be illuminated in poppy red between November 4th and Remembrance Day. Sites will include selected trees and prominent points of the CBD and of course the original GRL-branded War Memorial. ANAT are very proud and excited to see artist interventions being adopted by the wider community.

ANAT supports and encourages the safe and quick release of James and co-detainees.

electrofringe 2008

2008-08-14T02:49:00.001+10:00

tuned citizens

2008-08-13T18:27:00.000+10:00

reflections on tuned city and das kleine field recordings festival...
http://kleine-frf.blogspot.com/2008/08/4th-of-july-tuned-citizens.html

direct

2008-07-25T03:12:00.002+10:00

have recently become one of the co-directors of the Electrofringe festival for 2008

telepathies

2008-07-22T21:15:00.003+10:00

video ID-i/o

2008-07-22T03:38:00.002+10:00

short clip of gig at wriezener bahnhoff in berlin as part of the tuned city festival (and das kleine field recordings festival)

with morry photographing in tha background

singaporean electricity

2008-07-17T09:53:00.003+10:00

my dj gigs in singapore....

berlinerz

2008-07-17T01:02:00.002+10:00

icke & er

motion media

2008-06-30T18:01:00.004+10:00

just recieved notice that my paper has been accepted into the Media in Motion Symposium run by DOCAM. The symposium will be in Montreal from October 29 2008.

Abstract
Recontextualisation of technology in contemporary life from objects of fascination to everyday tools has likewise been reflected in current art practices. The past decade has seen memory institutions grapple with and overcome momentous shifts towards increasingly techno-centric modes of creative and intellectual production and output. In the library, archive and academic communities, the response has predominantly focussed on web archiving and digitisation practices for large-scale digital repositories with accompanying online delivery mechanisms. When faced with the overwhelming task of tackling complex born-digital objects – those that assume hybrid forms, employing multiple file formats, contain a combination of custom-designed and constructed software, hardware and wetware – with resultant installations, performances or wearables (interactive or otherwise), momentum rapidly decreases. Tendencies suggest the library community shies away while museums return to traditional documentation practices. Thus far, support for media art in general has largely been situated in the gallery and museum domain, positioned outside of the traditional library sphere. Contributions from both library and museum archival practices are essential for a holistic approach to preservation and sustained access, ensuring longevity of media artworks. When faced with developing systems for archiving a collection of weird and wonderful media artworks, what models and standards are available for managing both the artwork its associated metadata? Navigating through the seemingly endless list of acronyms that include MANS, METS, PREMIS and OAIS, what can be utilised to keep both the work and metadata alive?

Each collection brings along its own idiosyncrasies, so identifying potential assets and issues for preservation models is a necessity. With ‘the only constant is change’ as a basic premise, how do we handle existing materials while maintaining awareness of and the flexibility to manage emerging future forms? While no single specific solution is attainable, presented is a range of considerations intended to stimulate dialogue in this emerging field.

For more info see: www.docam.ca/en

wish i were

2008-06-26T03:16:00.005+10:00

there... but at least my friends take photos and send them to me... thanks nicky

tuning tha city

2008-06-23T11:49:00.002+10:00

will be sound tech-ing for the Tuned City sound art field recordings festival which runs from the 1st 5th July in Berlin

michel waisvisz

2008-06-21T23:42:00.001+10:00

very sad news to hear michel waisvisz, who i only met last year, passed away.

he bought me breakfast and had one of the most soulful and encouraging conversations i've had on this past year of my journey. my heart really goes out to all inc his partner, daughter and the steim community.

more can be found at: http://www.steim.org/michel/

sympathizing synthesisers

2008-06-21T23:35:00.002+10:00

these guys are hilarious, 2 nz boys, who made me laugh so much i almost cried:

see their take on the consequences of inner city life

and okay, i finally agree that Jemaine from flight of the conchords does at times look like my cuz James in the ugly stick.

check tha similarities (+ hilarity) for yourselves....

sonic australia

2008-05-13T03:26:00.004+10:00

An interview with Michael Rüsenberg (along with other fellow australian sound artists) for the show Sonic Australia will go to air on WDR 3 (german national radio) on the Saturday 24th May at 11:05pm (GMT+1).

The live stream will be available from: http://www.wdr.de/radio/wdr3/hoeren.phtml

More information can be found at: www.realambient.de and short snippets of my interview at: www.realambient.de/sound-langley.html

stu-di-o

2008-05-11T10:36:00.004+10:00

my new... stu-di-oh
Originally uploaded by somaya

this is a first - my own studio that's not based in my bedroom or loungeroom

this space is for a residency with culturia in berlin to develop the project when you return home...

i'm sharing the studio with tim o'loghlin from dark network ...its amazing how paths cross again in the world...

futuresonic

2008-05-10T23:20:00.002+10:00

futuresonic streets
Originally uploaded by somaya

recently attended the futuresonic 2008 festival in manchester... with the likes of richard stallman, luke vibert + mike paradinas, felix kubin, CRUMB, thompson + craighead to name but a few....

for photos of the event see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/somayalangley/sets/72157604954085696/

body think

2008-03-24T20:35:00.002+11:00

The Inter-Arts Office is pleased to announce the recipients of its
2008 ArtLab initiative. The successful projects are:

Thinking Through the Body

Collaboration of artists Jonathan Duckworth, George Khut, Somaya
Langley, Lizzie Muller, Garth Paine and Catherine Truman,
investigating the use and potential of touch and movement in
body-focused interactive art. The group will use a variety of
body-sensing technologies to explore the possibilities of interactive
art that links technical experimentation and artistic expression.

survival

2008-03-22T04:56:00.003+11:00

my friend jodi rose's face currently appears homepage of the Australia Council for the Arts website : career pathways in media arts

this is hilarious, for a number of reasons only some of which being, that i paid for the postage of her last application and have bought groceries a couple of times

luckily the favours get returned - i've been able to camp out at her place during the transport strikes in berlin, she makes dinner for us, and she found me an abandoned bike in the park

is this just surviving... or having a career?

cold feet

2008-03-22T04:10:00.002+11:00

just received in the mail today, Cold Feet, a short film by Nicole Manktelow and Peter Gerrard - which uses my work d-struction as the sound art component of the film

telepath

2008-03-21T18:21:00.000+11:00

tele path

3 sound/video excursions into the world

(submarine, alpdream, light's house)

video: david mcdowell
sound: somaya langley

sound mastering: kimmo vennonen

single channel video
dolby digital 5.1 surround sound

the production of the dvd was generously supported by the australian capital territory government through artsact.

...finally the dvd has been mastered and pressed

crazy macedonians

2008-03-14T13:33:00.001+11:00

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/14/2189099.htm?section=justin

so much wireless, so little contact

2008-03-12T15:06:00.001+11:00

field

2008-03-12T08:54:00.001+11:00

"I think Somaya's performance was a very rafinated composition of swirling and spiraling sounds, but I am not sure. I only know the audience was completely absorbed and silenced."

dkfrf blog

construct

2008-03-11T05:37:00.006+11:00

the past weekend has been spent tech-ing at program gallery for their sound constructions 2-day forum / festival

check it

2008-03-08T06:24:00.003+11:00

tru

2008-03-02T07:35:00.001+11:00

Burial: But girls love the dark tunes too.

networks, new work

2008-02-19T10:31:00.002+11:00

just what i need: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/02/18/2165487.htm

fields

2008-02-19T00:02:00.003+11:00

robert curgenven, jodi rose and myself will be playing at the das kleine field recordings festival at Wendel this week

Wednesday 20th February 2008
22:00pm
Wendel
Schlesische Straße 42
Berlin

3 australians playing the sounds of their journeys and adventures thru tha world

fools day

2008-02-12T12:49:00.000+11:00

club transmediale

2008-01-30T07:47:00.000+11:00

pilot

2008-01-28T10:14:00.000+11:00

recently threw together the website for les jardins des pilotes

from a while back

2008-01-24T06:47:00.000+11:00

last view

athenian love

transit lounge 2008

2008-01-17T03:22:00.000+11:00

BERLIN / AUSTRALIA (MELBOURNE SYDNEY BRISBANE MUTTAMA PERTH)

In 2008, TRANSIT LOUNGE becomes an experiment in remote collaboration, as 15 artists work between Berlin, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, on the evolution of a complex, emergent structure. The platform for this trans-disciplinary exchange is the TRANSIT LOUNGE website, powered by open-source, wiki software. An organic structure, the site grows in multiple directions as the content is layered and interlinked, tracing remote interactions and local interventions between artists. The latency of these dialogues across time zones and locations creates feedback loops (local interventions web local interventions) opening up spaces for mistranslation resonating between the different cities.

The multitude of inputs, exchanges, and disruptions will be distilled in an exhibition which opens at PROGRAM BERLIN on the 31st January, 2008 to coincide with transmediale.08. Here the variations will continue to multiply as the process is augmented by the actions of visitors to the space.

TRANSIT LOUNGE is a project by Katie Hepworth and Miriam Mlecek and involves the following artists:

Chris Bennie (Brisbane), Bianca Calandra (Berlin), Robert Curgenven (Berlin), Cat Hope (Perth), Tanja Kimme (Melbourne), Somaya Langley (Berlin), Sarah Last (Muttama), Silvia Marzall (Berlin), Ben Milbourne (Melbourne), Michael Prior (Melbourne), Lynda Roberts (Melbourne), Jodi Rose (Berlin), Sumugan Sivanesan (Sydney), Anna Tautfest (Berlin)

EMERGENCES

Program Gallery
Invalidienstraße 115
10115 Berlin
Germany

Vernissage/Exhibition Opening: 19:00, 31st January 2008
Opening Times: 14:00-19:00, 1st - 6th February 2008

Project Space
Bouverie Street
Carlton
Melbourne 3053
Australia

TRANSIT LOUNGE is a partner event of transmediale.08 CONSPIRE

TRANSIT LOUNGE would like to thank the Australia Council for their support.

bastard

2008-01-10T12:26:00.001+11:00

changing views:

A Thousand Splended Suns, Khaled Hosseini
The Bastard of Istanbul, Elif Shafak

i can't recommend enough...

developing transit space

2008-01-08T14:11:00.000+11:00

have recently developed the wiki and website for transit lounge 2008 project (with a few helping hands: govinda, katie, nick...)

future 08

2008-01-07T01:32:00.000+11:00

der Stern

free beer, i mean work...

2008-01-06T12:19:00.000+11:00

its been about a decade since i worked as a waitress, but tell me why would anything have changed?

probably any student doing a waitressing side job to support their university habit would've done a free work trial at some cafe - and now it comes to someone's attention...

see http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/06/2132466.htm?section=justin

crackerz

2008-01-05T00:23:00.000+11:00

cracker boyz on nye 07/08 in alexanderplatz...

aussie high

2008-01-04T21:49:00.000+11:00

a DVD of summer heights high found its way to berlin ...

now i don't have to explain the australian lifestyle to random peeps - just point them in this direction
(and mention that jonah is really just a television reincarnation of stuart thaung from my high school days - so so hilarious, both then and now)

lounging in transit

2007-12-17T13:20:00.000+11:00

i'll be taking part in the 2008 Transit Lounge - split between Berlin and Australia - as part of a partner event of Conspire, Transmediale.08...

i'll be conspiring alongside other artists including:
Bianca Calandra, Robert Curgenven, Benjamin Ducroz, Katie Hepworth, Govinda Lange, Silvia Marzall, Kristina Matovic, Michael Prior, Jodi Rose, Sumugan Sivanesan, Anna Tautfest, Lynda Roberts...

home?

2007-12-16T10:45:00.001+11:00

IMG_6519
Originally uploaded by bugzfizzle

despite the lack of actual housing in new orleans, projects such as this have been constructed - and yet, where do the inhabitants live exactly...?

empathy and otherness

2007-12-09T02:18:00.001+11:00

review of ars electronica 2007 in the latest issue of realtime: http://www.realtimearts.net/article/issue82/8764

one

2007-12-06T00:15:00.000+11:00

transit

2007-11-25T22:11:00.000+11:00

we got tha fucker out

2007-11-25T01:57:00.000+11:00

i can't believe it, howard is no longer australia's PM - fucking finally

people in berlin think i'm a little mad today. why would all this grey weather make me so so happy? (its not the weather - i tell you...)

so labour - over to you, just don't fuck it

art of sedition

2007-11-23T23:39:00.000+11:00

a la hommage to steve reich's 1960's tape music has been pulled from broadcast by an adelaide radio station, based on legal advice.

the piece, "Decennial Celebrations" commemorates the coalition and john howard's ten years in power, and was performed at adelaide's delicatessen venue in 2006. apparently the phrase "kill john howard" is enough to provoke the removal of such a work from airplay. in the words of the composer Christian Haines, "...eventually the words [in the piece] lose meaning because you can't tell the start and end of the sentence and leads to a sort of auditory hallucination."

in the final days leading up to australia's 2007 election, this really paints a picture of our rights to free speech.

betta late than neva

2007-11-22T04:12:00.000+11:00

spent last week at the re:place conference, held at das haus der kulturen der welt

the second conference on media, art, history and science

spam

2007-11-04T11:03:00.000+11:00

truth & reality

2007-10-31T04:44:00.000+11:00

please just watch the film Zeitgeist

where is this place ,

2007-10-02T23:55:00.000+10:00

the start of a new work about home, family, displacement and belonging in the global, networked age.

propaganda

2007-09-30T22:00:00.000+10:00

one of the best political works i've seen in a while was at the DESTE foundation in Athens. A female security guard, standing in a corner of one of the gallery rooms. As you enter the room she starts singing "this is propaganda..." (a simple melody and a phrase that she repeats as she begins to walk around the space a little).

its only when you leave the room you notice that other gallery minders are dressed fairly casually. the tune and the words - stuck in my head...

electrofringe - wear now

2007-09-28T05:03:00.000+10:00

so it's the first year i'll be missing electrofringe in ages ... and in an attempt to still be there, alexandra gillespie will be speaking about my Mobile Patters work on the WearNow panel on Saturday September 29th in the Newcastle Regional Art Gallery at 2pm...

dialectic cursing - in tha dam

2007-09-28T01:10:00.000+10:00

head to occii if u in amsterdam tonite...

moments like

2007-09-26T20:29:00.000+10:00

bliss

sitting in bed eating pistachios (for er, brunch?) from Aegina - and reminding me of the hot sun and sea - while drinking cool peppermint tea and listening to the rain on the skylight above...

(with a laptop and wireless access)

simple things like this, which i appreciate so much more these days, after such challenging times.

reskinning under skin

2007-09-26T20:04:00.000+10:00

an article by Leah Heiss about some of the works from the reskin lab can be found at: http://www.craftaustralia.com.au/articles/20070328.php

and another article (by Alex Gillespie and Cinnamon Lee) on the reskin lab and resulting works can be found at: http://www.craftaustralia.com.au/articles/20070827.php

steim wii

2007-09-18T07:46:00.000+10:00

wii is a small revolution.
wiiiiii is a movement about movement.
wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii is leaving the desktop and moving into sonic space.
wiiiii is made for gaming but hacked into a music instrument.
wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii is this rare moment where a mass produced object is recycled into a tool for both experimental and mainstream practice.
wiiiiiiiiiiiiii is supported by STEIM's junXion and pd, maxmsp, supercollider etc.
STEIM's wii evening is not sponsored by nintento, but we hope they get it and continue making brothers and sisters of the wii.
wiiiiiiiiii(h)ero's from all over the globe will present their wiiiiiiiing and perform at STEIM on Monday September 24, 2007.

Featuring
Ross Bencina (AU), Somaya Langley (AU), Danielle Wilde (AU)
Tom Tlalim (IL)
Tim Groeneboom aka DJ Timski (NL)
Frank Baldé (NL) + Saskia Dedenbach (DE)

Date: Monday, September 24 2007
Venue: STEIM, Utrechtsedwarsstraat 134, Amsterdam
Time: 18.00pm
Entrance: Free
Reservations and more information: knock@steim.nl or +31 20 6228690

Project descriptions
Ross Bencina, Somaya Langley, Danielle Wilde - prototyping gesture~sound mappings with the wiimote
Ross, Somaya and Danielle will discuss outcomes of a recent residency at STEIM where they developed a variety of gesture-to-sound mappings aimed at engaging the whole body in controlling sound. Up to six Wiimotes were used simultaneously to gather gestural information from multiple positions on the body, and from multiple performers.

Tom Tlalim - Body tilt space measurement using 8-12 Wiimotes / nunchucks
This is a research project into use of the body as an instrument, while imposing limitations on space by audio feedback. I'm trying to look at the human body with relation to gravity alone, learning about poise, dynamics and location from looking at it's tilt and acceleration. complexity, weight-center, speed, and dynamics can be then analyzed, calculated and used as indicators of a current tilt space. As a prototyping tool I'm using 8-12 3d accelerometers (Wiimotes) to measure tilt and acceleration for every joint. x/y tilt data is then graphed, analyzed, and buffered for template matching. Currently the data is used straight forward as continuous input for states of an audio system. Next stage in development will be definition of audio spaces via template matching; snapshots of different shapes of the body can be stored and compared with the current body position. as the dancer reproduces specific body positions, new sound presets get introduces.

Tim Groeneboom aka DJ Timski - Wiijing with Wiimote + Ableton Live + Max/MSP
DJ Timski will show and explain his Wiij (Wii + DJ) setup that he uses at parties to rock the crowd. http://www.djtimski.com/

Frank Baldé + Saskia Dedenbach
STEIM's software R&D Frank Balde and Saski Dedenbach will talk about the development process and implementation of the new Wii extension for STEIM’s junXion software.

the invisible camp

2007-09-17T04:45:00.006+10:00

snippets of stories, of oral histories, emotions and experiences join me each day as i wake...

(once a killing wall, for children)

http://audiowalk.gusen.org/

destroy athens

2007-09-17T04:45:00.005+10:00

destroy athens is the first athens contemporary art biennal, which i've just spent a few days discovering during my week in this city

the theme lures artists to destroy preconceived notions of athens, creating a new contemporary image of who and what this place represents today. artists from all over the western artworld are represented in the show (plus a a number of parallel exhibitions and events) including john bock and dereck jarman to name but two...

press gang

2007-09-06T06:32:00.000+10:00

imo and i are heading to ars electronica tomorrow, with press passes in hand - ready to put together a couple of radio features... so come talk to us.

gig pics

2007-09-05T20:33:00.000+10:00

photos from last nights gig of displaced australian sounds can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/somayalangley/sets/72157601879386715/

oi

2007-09-04T19:57:00.000+10:00

if you're in prenzlauer berg (berlin) tonite - and feel like some australian improv - come along to this gig...

(...and come talk to imogen and i, as we'll be on the door and on the look out for good conversation...)

gesturally sound

2007-08-31T02:21:00.000+10:00

© 2007 ross bencina, somaya langley and danielle wilde

ross bencina, danielle wilde and i were based at steim for three weeks in july 2007 working on a series of experimental gestural sound experiments utilising various techniques and Nintendo Wii remote technology.

we will be back at steim again on the 24th september 2007 to take part in a workshop presentation on the use of Wiimotes.

stolen love-terror

2007-08-24T22:15:00.001+10:00

terror mon amour
Originally uploaded by somaya

pedro inoue's exhibition which opened last night at stolen space

fucking amazing work...

book in ya face

2007-08-05T03:00:00.000+10:00

aaaargh

okay, i signed up fo facebook out of curiosity - and now i'm getting a million (well not really, but too many anyway) emails notifying me of activity that's going on in there.

while there are obviously many benefits to social networking, where is the criticism? or at least critical analysis of its impact??

so far it's a time-sucking device - like i needed another...
i originally started this blog (before the 2005 vital signs conference) as a means to criticise the whole blogging phenomenon - you can't really talk about what you don't know, right!?! of course, somehow my naïveté lead me to keep it up.

i do actually enjoy seeing ppl in the flesh, not just sitting in bed with a laptop
(govinda - you have a lot to answer for)

11/08/2007: let me take some of that back... there is some discussion of this going on thru fibreculture at the moment, see: http://fibreculture.org/pipermail/list_fibreculture.org/2007-August/000324.html

moving metropolis

2007-07-24T22:40:00.001+10:00

NY laws that prevent physical self-expression - combated by: metropolis in motion

archival

2007-07-22T21:00:00.001+10:00

P1020364.JPG
Originally uploaded by AliaK

archiving workshop panel with Jo Fleming (NFSA, AFC) and Shannon O'Neill (UTS, alias frequencies) talking about digital archiving and collaborative development of online projects/spaces - Electrofringe 2006

evening

2007-07-17T04:02:00.001+10:00

woke to lightning and lay watching clouds rapidly roll overhead, thru the skylight

by lunchtime it's humid and sunny. a real european summer's day? it was just a tease...

and this evening, well you can see

moving the earth

2007-07-16T00:08:00.001+10:00

viewing (thru the glass door) of semiconductor's video work "earth moves" at Montevideo (the Netherlands Institute for Media Arts) in the exhibition (in)visible sounds along with other artists including Australian's Joyce Hinterding and David Haines

belly under

2007-07-13T12:27:00.000+10:00

my beautiful friends in sydney are running Underbelly - a two week public art lab residency at the Carriage Works in Redfern with the final day being a festival.

Festival is this Saturday 14th July
Features collaborative works developed over the past two weeks and a special talks program and a panel... all about artists and space: how we find it, how we use it.

Moderated by Underbelly Director Imogen Semmler, featuring Lara Thoms (Quarterbread @ PACT), TJ Eckleberg (Artistic Director, Shopfront Theatre), Sharon Longridge (MI5), Music NSW and other special guests.

please get along and experience the extravaganza

weee

2007-07-12T23:28:00.000+10:00

never thought i'd say this, but i've been doing a bit of testing with the Nintendo Wii - running multiple Wiis with the aka.wiiremote Max object (by Masayuki Akamatsu).

in the end managed to get 6 up and running at once...

there's a bit of info that i posted to the Max list about using this object and multiple devices:http://www.cycling74.com/forums/index.php?t=tree&th=27299&mid=110247&rid=3152&S=a3039c435435f4978e27f0be051c3c0a&rev=&reveal=

steim

2007-07-11T03:27:00.001+10:00

Atau Tanaka (one of the directors of STEIM - where ross bencina, danielle wilde and i are currently in residence for 3 weeks)

performing at Montevideo in Amsterdam

(lost) view

2007-07-07T07:17:00.000+10:00

announcements about unattended baggage in airports?

once again the airline has lost my stuff. it seems to arrive tho (after hanging around in the terminal all alone), in some disheveled state... days later

raster in montreal

2007-07-05T21:02:00.000+10:00

raster-noton exhibition at Société des Arts Technologiques (SAT) in Montreal if you happen to be there and need to escape the rain...

SoniPy

2007-06-30T01:52:00.000+10:00

Presented a paper presentation at the 2007 ICAD conference this morning in Montreal...

The Design of a Heterogeneous Software Environment for Data Sonification Research and Auditory Display: SoniPy
by David Worrall, Michael Bylstra, Stephen Barrass and Roger Dean (aka. the Sonic Communications Research Group)

further information can be found at: sonipy.sourceforge.net

icad 2007

2007-06-27T09:46:00.001+10:00

13th annual International Conference on Auditory Display, held in Montreal, Canada began today

architecting montreal

2007-06-27T09:45:00.000+10:00

rainview (brooklyn)

2007-06-27T06:50:00.001+10:00

what happened

2007-06-27T06:37:00.000+10:00

to us?

dan perjovschi - straight up

commenting on the state of the world, an exhibition at New York's MOMA.

way [the fuck] out...

2007-06-27T06:34:00.000+10:00

never giggle at the name of a place, or you might end up having to spend the day there

blindly

2007-06-15T07:45:00.000+10:00

perhaps all the digital glitter will blind you, and you'll stumble into the defence recruiting center

fabolous plays midtown

2007-06-15T07:27:00.000+10:00

only in nyc...

"...the cops have closed the party down tonite... so we need to get thru to tha venue, it backs onto here, so ya know, if we could come thru your foyer and go in tha back door. he's a rapper, and the party needs to happen..."

all you young black men and women, wearing all-black with gold bling. black caps on sideways or backward, in impossibly high stilettos

black sunglasses that blind, even though it's half-past-twelve... mobile phones pressed to ears talkin' shit to who knows who...

attitude and perfume oozing out of pores, almost suffocating everyone in close vacinity.