1. How would you describe your work
Our work focuses on combining two primary art forms: sculpture and music. We create large scale immersive installations with a focus on space, sound, tactility, and touch. As artists we are passionate about collaborating to make interdisciplinary work which connects with the community.
2. What role does community or culture play in your art, especially in the context of this installation?
Although our artwork is created to be engaging for all, being young people ourselves we see many people of similar age and younger feel distant towards the arts and music. Through collaborating with community and youth groups we hope to help foster inspiration and opportunities for people to access the arts.
For our Christmas at Bute Park installation we had the pleasure of working with the Cardiff branch of the National Open Youth Orchestra (NOYO) which was an incredible experience. We have recorded a collection of sounds and speech from their rehearsals which has formed the basis for the composition. Some of the recordings have since been manipulated with a Modular Synthesiser but everything you hear at our installation was originally played by NOYO!
3. Are there any specific challenges or opportunities that come with creating art for a large outdoor event/public space?
One of the biggest challenges has been to ensure everything is prepared and sustainable for six weeks of public interaction. As well as ensuring that it’s weatherproof considering it’s subject to the Welsh weather! However, we both agree though that for us, the opportunities outweigh the challenges. Being able to think ambitiously with scale so we can create environments for our audience to be immersed in is always great fun!
4. What's next for you after the installation?
We purposefully made this sculpture durable and able to tour to other locations so we can continue working and developing this installation. We would love to make it more immersive for the audience by incorporating an interactive element where the audience could trigger sounds by touching the light.
Individually we both work as freelance artists and are always on the lookout for exciting new projects which bring together our art forms!
About Tangible Lemon
Natalie Roe, Composer and Electronic Artist - I am Natalie, a composer and sound designer with an explorative approach to music, leading me to constantly discover and be fascinated by new sounds. Collaboration is at the heart of my work. As someone who loves and enjoys creating visual art, the invisibility of audio enables a huge opportunity to incorporate this in my work. Find out more about Natalie.
Louis Smith, Designer and Sculptor - My name is Louis, I am a sculptor and maker with an interest in anything hands on or messy. I am most at home working on something so big you cannot tell what it is until you are standing far away from it. I also have a keen interest in performance and musicianship which I attempt to integrate into my own work as much as possible. Find out more about Louis.
Find out more about Tangible Lemon.
About Christmas at Bute Park
For those of you who are yet to experience the UK’s biggest-selling light trail outside of London, Christmas at Bute Park is an annual festive installation in the heart of Cardiff. With over 100,000 visitors per year, it has become Wales’ biggest festive light trail, allowing audiences to journey through a spectacular range of illuminations, sculptures and special effects.
Christmas at Bute Park is delivered by From the Fields, an agency which organises contemporary festive experiences across UK cities. Each of their light trails aims to immerse audiences in an audio-visual experience which can be playful and fun, or bold and striking.
You can experience Christmas at Bute Park between 22 November - 31 December. Find out more.
Keep an eye on Creative Cardiff's channels as we share more about the commissioned artists as they develop their pieces!
