Projects

  • VoxAEther

    VoxAEther has recently been on exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane and as part of the Asian Art Biennale at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan.  The work consists of four laser-cut sculptural forms based upon the morphology and symmetry of microscopic Radiolaria, countless billions of which live in our oceans. …

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  • Padme

    Views of the Padme Installation at MacQuarie University 2010. Padme is a solar-powered digital audio floating sculpture that is activated by wave motion and by water birds nudging the antennae-like motion sensing ‘whiskers’ that radiate from the work. A short radio interview about the installation. A favourite with the wildlife. Slight movement activated a chorus…

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  • New York Drawings

    This is ancient history – a series of drawings made in New York during 1988. The studio was just around the corner from Pearl Paint the extraordinary art materials store trading in larger than life versions of everything including paper – so why not make a series of drawings in encaustic wax and pigments on…

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  • Adrift

    I’m a Nomad not a Drifter, being Adrift is of course a different kettle of fish, as it implies an active surrender to the vagaries of the elements, be they maritime or psychological ~ I usually go for both! The Adrift project was conceived and realised for the Memory Flows exhibition at the CarriageWorks in…

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  • EcoLocated

    M.A.R.I.N. made its debut at ISEA2009 Belfast in August 2009. This first expedition, the “Irish Sea EcoLocated Residency”, focused upon Littoral cultures: how marine ecologies close to human settlements are perceived by scientists and local communities, and how our art & science research team will introduce new cultural strategies to interlace them. The MARIN vessel…

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  • Zephyr II

    Zephyr ~ an Æolian kinetic sculpture for the Geraldton foreshore. Methinks, it should have been impossible Not to love all things in a World like this, Where e’en the Breezes of the simple Air Possess the power and Spirit of Melody! Coleridge, The Æolian Harp. Zephyr is playfully named after Zephyrus the Greek god of…

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  • BioSonics

    BioSonics investigates the morphology of microscopic marine organisms. Installed at the Western Plains Museum and Art Gallery 2008. A short introduction filmed by Julia Burns. The rational and the fantastical: the morphology of Nigel Helyer, by Gail Priest. Despite Star Trek’s propagandist efforts for space as the final frontier, the vast unknown can be found…

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  • GhosTrain

    During 2008 Nigel held the ABC Radiophonic Fellowship and developed a project entitled GhosTrain that deals with memories (and amnesia) surrounding Sydney’s Eveleigh Railyards. The first stage of the GhosTrain project created a series of short Radio Broadcasts and a Podcast website focused on the Redfern Locomotive & Eveliegh Carriage Works.  The project addressed the…

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  • Run Silent Run Deep

    Nigel undertook an Artist in Residence at The Marine Mammal Laboratory (Tropical Marine Science Institute) of the National University of Singapore; developing a project for ISEA2008 exhibited at the National Museum of Singapore, July ~ August 2008. Run Silent, Run Deep creates a multi-vocal and multi-cultural AudioPortrait of Singapore – in particular the area around…

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  • Sculpture in the Vineyards

    [dropcap character=”A”] new work “Transformer” has been installed at the UnderCliff Vineyard in Wollembi alongside “Spinner” which remains in-situ from last year. [dropcap character=”M”]y approach to the sonic domain has always been informed by a Sculptor’s perspective which emphasises the experiential nature of sounds, linking them to the dynamic, material events that produce them and situating…

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  • WA Marine Facility ~ Ondes

    Ondes Ondes is a public art commission for a new Marine facility at Henderson WA. The work is comprised of three elements; an outdoor kinetic work, consisting of six counter-balanced needles which interact with the wind; a series of interactive biomorphic sculptures that react to human movement via changes in their internal lighting and a…

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  • Quint de Loup II

    Quint de Loup II was exhibited at the Tin Sheds Gallery, Faculty of Architecture, The University of Sydney. Fictionalising Fiction! ~ Nigel Helyer. In the beginning: As a thirteen-year-old lad I was once left to kick my heels for the day in central London, along with a couple of friends.  Being both wary of getting…

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  • The Wireless House

    The Wireless House is a public art project commissioned by the City of Sydney as part of the Glebe Point Road upgrade.  The Wireless House is located in Foley Park at the intersection of Glebe Point Road and Pyrmont Bridge Road and has an interesting history. And while you are at it……listen to some audio…

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  • Talking Stick

    Attentive Listening is not something that many of us allow ourselves the time to do, dominated as we are by a constant flow of visual information, and so mindful of the demands of the clock. But listening, rather than simply hearing, is an ever-present gateway to hidden worlds of detail and narrative; always close at…

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