Put the work of a Brazilian electronic music pioneer and a London-based sculptor in one room and you will get a sensational exhibition… A supernova of the senses.
© Dazed and Confused
Sculpturer Tessa Farmer is respected for her dimensional work made from insect carcasses, plant roots and other found natural materials. Neyrelle describes Tessa Farmer’s work as ‘hanging installations depicting Boschian battles between insects and tiny winged skeletal humanoids.’ Amon Tobin is considered to be one of the most influential electronic music artists in the world. Signed under British record label, Ninja Tunes, Tobin has released seven studio albums since 1996. Despite his commercial success, many could say it’s his live performance that surpasses any in-studio production.
Farmer and Tobin… Two minds with the same vision found each other and an exceptional collaboration was born. A exhibition/project which was called Control over Nature.
We are both re-arranging natural materials to build imagined places and characters that inhabit them. Tessa builds vicious fairies out of insect pieces and I have this album based on invented instruments and vocalists built from the things around me. (Amon Tobin, Dazed and Confused interview)
© Dazed and Confused
Throughout the years Brazilian-born Amon Adonai Santos de Araújo Tobin aka Amon Tobin has developed his personal and complex sound design and right now he wants to push things further focussing strongly on the visual element in his music.
Listening to ISAM for the first time was like falling down the rabbit hole in Alice and entering dark fairytale world. I was enchanted. Or ‘fairy -led’. There was a wonderful moment of realisation ‘Oooh so this is what ‘my work/ my world’ sounds like’. The music adds another level to the imagined worlds and creatures that already exist in my mind. I made the pieces that the music conjured in my mind, trying to translate the energy from one form to another and maintain a narrative that fits with the whole album. (Tessa Farmer, Dazed and Confused interview)
Amon Tobin is an artist who finds satisfaction only when there is a prominent aesthetic aspect that comes with his sound. And not just any visuals. The stage he has built for his newest live show ‘ISAM’ resonates with his desire to beyond what the audience expects. We have learnt not to expect anything.
The exhibition ran at the Crypt Gallery in Euston, London in the summer of 2011. Brussels, Berlin and North America also had the privilege to display this remarkable collaboration.
The exhibition is going to tour the world so hopefully it will go down well and build future opportunities for us both. In any case I’d love to do an animated short with Tessa at some point. (Amon Tobin, Dazed and Confused interview)
© Amon Tobin
© Amon Tobin
© Amon Tobin
This is how it should be, two talented artists collaborating to push the public’s imagination, senses and inspiration to new heights. It might have been called Control over Nature, but the control of people’s senses comes to mind too…
The idea came up while everyone was trying to think of a relevant visual reference for the album. None of my music is made with visuals in mind so it always comes after the album is done. In this case I think I got very lucky. (Amon Tobin, Dazed and Confused interview)
I think Amon is quite brave to allow a visual artist to interpret his music. This is from my point of view as I’m a control freak! (Tessa Farmer, Dazed and Confused interview)
source: Dazed and Confused, Neyrelle, Amon Tobin, YouTube, SoundCloud
