Projects

Voyages from Eden to Utopia; Hercules

Year : 1984 EXHIBITED Aspex Gallery, Portsmouth, UK (1984) MATERIALS Section 1. Vessel elements: pit fired/blackened earthenware. Section 2. Pillars: wood and metal-lath armature with raw clay cladding (air dried). Section 3. Vessel/lamp elements: copper foil, stoneware; paraffin lights. DIMENSIONS Overall floor Coverage: 14m x 8m (112 m2) Section 1. Max. linear dimension 20cm (x…
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The Transit of Venus

Exhibited. Nykytaiteen Museo, Helsinki (Kiasma) 1999. Auckland City Art Gallery 1999. And as radio broadcast for YLE Finland and ABC Australia. A collaborative project with Simo Alitalo. Materials. Multi Channel 3D audio system, Underwater audio system, Life-rafts, Hydrophones. Dimensions. Installation footprint 12m x 12m x 3.5m Notes. The Transit of Venus is a major project…
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Toll

A Sound-sculpture installation located in two sites. Exhibited. The Muu Galerie, Helsinki, Finland and at the Cholera Basin, Helsinki Harbour 1996. Materials. x2 Bronze Bells, x32 Voltaic cells and electronic circuits, audio equipment with ISDN telephone line. Zinc wall texts. Dimension. Gallery installation :- 6m x 6m, Harbour installation :- variable. Toll. This project was…
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A Symphony for Other Cultures

Exhibited. The Performance Space, Sydney, 1987. Materials. Section 1. Pipe element: Rough sawn Oregon timber, Plywood, Steel fittings and industrial turbine. Section 2. Fan corridor: x 2 industrial turbines on timber mounts. Section 3. Bell element: Raw clay over wood and expanded metal armature, with plywood mould board attached. Dimensions. Section 1: – 7m x…
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The Lament

Exhibited. W.I.N.D.O.W. Gallery, Sydney as part of SoundCulture 1991. Materials. Form ply exterior, Zinc speaker cone with audio system and x2 channel audio loop, Viewing ports with x5 military models and video screen. Dimensions. Entire gallery interior, frontage access only. This small city storefront gallery was architecturally modified, replacing the normal viewing space with an…
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Sonic Landscapes

From June 1999 until September 2001 Nigel Helyer worked as an Artist in Residence at Lake Technology in Sydney, http://www.lake.com developing the Sonic Landscapes Virtual Audio Reality system. The project was funded for the first twelve months by the New Media Board of the Australia Council for the Arts under its Art and Industry partnerships…
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Siren Song

Exhibited Installation form ~ Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1992. Radio Broadcast component ~ 120 minutes Opera for ABC Radio. Materials. Perforated Zincalum, Steel, Wire rigging, Audio electronics. Dimensions. Each unit 2.5m x 2.5m (diameter). Broadcast Structure. Text generated with interactive text programme. Human Vocals with synthetic orchestration. Duration. 120 minutes. Notes. Siren…
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Seed

Exhibited. Arizona State University 2002. Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth 2002. Stanford University Gallery 2003. Boutwell Draper Gallery, Sydney 2003. Materials.Timber, Carpet and Prayer Mats, Facsimile Landmine and Mine detectors, Audio electronics x16 channel, projection. Dimensions.19m x 10m x 4m. Notes.In English, we speak of mines sown in fields or laid somewhat akin to an…
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Ship to Shore

A marine sound installation for the Albert Dock, Liverpool, UK, and accompanying radio broadcasts. Exhibited. Albert Dock, Liverpool, UK as part of ISEA 1998. Materials. Marine Buoy + audio/electronics. Dimensions. Buoy 3m x 2m diameter. Sonic footprint variable. Soundtext x2 Audio Cd in random shuffle loop mode + Broadcast. Radio Broadcast; x12 broadcasts of x5…
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Oracle

Sculptural installation with multi-channel audio and video components. Exhibited. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney 1995 as part of the “Sound in Space” National Sound Art Survey exhibition. Materials. Timber, audio-visual electronics, low frequency audio drivers. Dimension. x4 units @ 3m x 2m x 3m. Installation footprint 10m x 8m x 3m. Videotext. Single channel…
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Re-Entry Vehicle; Natural Science in the Spirit World

Exhibited. Spectro Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, U.K. 1982. Materials. Section 1. Circle: Pigmented sand; carbonised wood; pit fired earthenware vessels (x8) (35cm dia); carbonised grain; seabird skulls/bones; metal blades; Polaroid photograph.Section 2. Canoe: Steel and Weldmesh framework; clay; straw; steel wire; glass and mirror fragments (x8); Polaroids and associated negative waste; strip lights 40w. (x8). Section 3…
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Naughty Apartment

Exhibited. RMIT project Gallery, Melbourne 2003 as part of “House of the Future” + The Moores Building Fremantle as part of the Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth 2004. + The Performance Space as part of “What Survives” 2006. Medium. Interactive Sound-Sculpture – plastics, metal and audio-electronics. Notes ~ Fictionalising Fiction!. In the beginning; As a…
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Mute in TalkTown; the sweet warm breath of science

Exhibited. The Performance Space, Sydney, 1990. Materials . Element #1: – Sax/Motor; Steel, Structural plywood, Flame manifold, Audio equipment. Element #2: – Laboratory structures (x2); Aluminium, Glass, Bunsen burners, Honey, Gyroscope, Tuning fork, Projection lamps. Element #3: – Top structures; Aluminium, Motors, Spinning tops, Power supply. Dimensions. Element #1: – 3.5m (dia) x 10m. Element…
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Meta-Diva

Exhibited.Nine Dragon Head Festival, Lake Teachong, Korea 2001.+Winner – Helen Lempriere Sculpture Award, Melbourne 2002. Materials.Aluminium, Audio and Solar electronics. Dimensions.Footprint variable, each unit 0.5 m dia. x 3.5 m. Meta-Diva displayed at the Nine Dragon Head Festival, Lake Teachong, Korea 2001. Meta-Diva is an environmental Sound Sculpture, designed for installation in wetlands sites. The…
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Metamorphoses

Exhibited. Elizabeth Bay House, Sydney 1997. Art Gallery of New South Wales 2000/1. Materials. Upholstery, Cast rubber, Aluminium, Audio electronics. Dimensions. Footprint variable x7 rooms. Individual units 05.m ~ 2.5m x7 works with identical soundscape. A singer who sings like a bird is an unproductive worker. When she sells her song, she is a wage…
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