That final point was very much a response to the art communities in Australia during that time. At an institutional level there was a serious dearth of expertise in and, being honest, interest in the curation of sound artworks.  The works were ephemeral, non-visio centric and difficult to install, a trifecta that meant they were significantly marginalised at a time when the Northern Hemisphere was celebrating the potentials of sound through exhibitions such as “Sonic Boom” which was curated by David Toop. The first 5-7 years of “Room40″’s actions were very much focused on strategies to heighten awareness of these emergent practices within the Australian context. About a decade in, things had shifted considerably and this part of it’s focus faded away. It was a reflection of a growing and articulate array of voices that were advocating for sound, which has since continued to flourish. Today, “Room40” hosts an annual festival “Open Frame” (though not this year, of course), has proceeded over 350 editions for artists from all over the world and is increasingly publishing small edition artist books and multiples. I describe it as a friends and family label, and community remains a massive driver for why I engage in this work.

How would you describe your visual works, and how are they connected to your sound?

In terms of a gallery practice, I have always been interested in making works that consider sound, but which perhaps are not necessarily sonic in and of themselves. Sound, and more precisely listening, plays a central role in how I approach my gallery based, and installation work. A piece such as Audition which I created for the Asia Pacific Triennial at the Gallery Of Modern Art was utterly concerned with sound, but was largely silent. The piece called on the spectator (redefined as listener) to orient themselves between a pair of 2.5m parabolics, in a room being articulated by a 29Hz sine wave. As you entered the room, you felt or heard nothing, but as you move towards the objects, you exited the zero point of the sine wave and start to feel an intense pressure, a sensation that becomes more complex as you approach the parabolic sculptures, as they cause you to second guess your sensing of the space. We tend not to spend much time considering how our ears help us shape an understanding of the world. This work addressed this shortcoming and reminded visitors that whilst we are consciously dominated by our eyes, they are only part of the sensory world we must come to engage with moment to moment. The idea of latent sound, something my friend and collaborator David Toop wrote of so eloquently in his book Sinister Resonance, is a concept that has been particularly resonate in works I’ve created in recent years. The image series Solicitudes primarily concerns itself with this idea, of how sound can haunt the visual. Increasingly it’s these extended investigations into how sound can be read and approached that are dominating my practice. Whilst I have a huge appreciation for the acoustic within sound artworks, it seems like an important moment to consider the questions of materiality, listenership and sound within a broader and more embedded context.

What are your future plans?

Right now I am working on a new solo recording. This work stems from a conversation I had with the British film maker Adam Curtis about 18 months ago. I hugely admire Adam’s work and his capacity to weave intensely complex geo-political narratives into expansive but approachable films is extraordinary. This recording is the final edition in a trilogy of recordings that began with “Wilderness Of Mirrors” and was followed up by “Cruel Optimism”. This one again draws its inspiration from the curious geo-political situations we find ourselves tangled within. This is a surreal period in human history and one that is both shocking and shockingly beautiful all at once. It’s hard not to want to dwell in these juxtapositions. This past month I published a new work for Pipe Organ, “Lassitude”. It’s an ultra minimal exploration of a 19th century organ that is capable of effortlessly deep minimal vibration. A magical device.