THREE TWO EIGHT OR NINE
by Tim Westcott.
7 September 2017
328 NW Broadway, Portland, Oregon
329 W Broadway, Vancouver, British Columbia
"Three Two Eight or Nine" is a conceptual entanglement of two analogous physical addresses.. a transfusion of urban noise floor and sonic footprint. While there is nothing inherently captivating about the recording itself, we can explore the shared commonality of ambient urban backgrounds and their perceptive thresholds.
The current listening conditions inside the gallery are a potentially stochastic element of the piece, affecting our ability to hear the recording in any specific manner...it may be in the forefront of our perception, or fuse into a subset of ambient noise with the street sounds of Portland.
The geography of the piece is a metaphorical bridge for my personal and artistic journey over the last 20 years, having moved from the Lower Mainland to Portland in the year 2000.
-
"Tim Westcott’s work stems from a position of radical listenership, a deeply seated place of curiosity, inquisition and exploration. Rather than shying away from the hulking sonic cacophony of the anthropocene Tim finds ways to embrace, focus and re-frame the ‘noise’ of place: urban, rural, industrial and environmental. His work is delicate, immersive, spatial and invitational. Vested more in granular detail and sonic nuance than decibel and amplitude, Tim creates complex and evolving sound fields that beg for deeper listening. While much contemporary composition works to create immersive experience by sonically overwhelming space and sense, Tim’s work is the opposite: a haunting, and often haunted, ephemeral whisper of heavily manipulated field recordings and electronic synthesis. Tim’s most recent recording, released by the formidable electro-minimalist imprint Dragon's Eye Recordings, A Land of Falling Waters, is vast and dark. It is an authentic shimmering darkness born from the negotiation of sonic detritus and beauty in the 21st century. Within its 30 minute single track, found sounds ink into one another in fascinating undulating drones, asking us to reconsider what we actually know about the sonic world around us.
As a curator and engineer Tim’s sense of radical listenership is evident and at the forefront. SIX (his co-curated six channel surround sound performance series) aggressively and consistently seeks out and presents different artists, composers, perspectives, opinions, and sonic approaches. Rather than creating a defined event or expectation of a particular type of sound performance, SIX creates a technical space: a tool for seemingly disparate works and artists. Those drawn together (performers as well as audience) by these events find vibrant fertile new relationships, friendships, and project ideas, fostering an exceptional sense of community and possibility. Tim, also an extremely skilled engineer, lends his technical abilities to countless regional performances and events. His humble yet meticulous approach to production and engineering adds a depth and richness to each project he participates in. Tim and his sonic practice as a composer, curator and engineer is an invaluable asset to the Pacific Northwest art community, his work an inextricable and vibrant part of its voice."
Burke Jam, Adjunct Professor of Art Studies, Portland State University
-
Tim Westcott is a sound artist, musician and audio engineer currently based in Portland, OR. Tim's work is characterized by an auto-didactic, experimental process, and an atmospheric aesthetic. His recordings have been featured on a handful of boutique record labels including Prologue, Dragon's Eye. and Home Normal. Tim has performed live at local, national and international venues, including well known digital arts festivals like MUTEK and Decibel. While Tim has contributed to gallery-based experiences in a performative context, he is honoured to present his first solo sound installation exhibit at Variform.