6 - 8pm
Fri 1st May
Gallery
Free
The Photonics in performance
Co-creators of the 'Shadow Signals' exhibition, Daniel Beban and Tim Barlow will activate the installation in a duo performance, followed by an artist talk discussing the exhibition and other works.
'Shadow Signals' emerged out of Tim and Dan's duo performances as The Photonics, an experimental optical sound project. For this performance, The Photonics will perform an experimental sound and light set. Taking a cue from early experiments in light and sound technology, various light emitting sources (including ultraviolet therapy torches, strobes, remote controls and regular LED and tungsten bulbs) are modulated into sound via solar panels, resulting in an immediate and direct transposition of the optical into the audible.
Following the performance, Tim and Dan will talk about their collaboration, how they use light to create sound and how this can be modulated. They may touch on spiritual motivations including ‘the essence of light’ and psychedelic colour organs. Questions, responses and requests for demonstrations are encouraged.
Artists Biographies
Daniel Beban (Photo by Ebony Lamb)
2025 Toi Põneke/NZSM Sonic Artist in Residence, Daniel Beban has been a central figure in Wellingtonʼs creative music community since the early 2000s, performing, recording, and creating sound sculptures. His music and sound practice explores the sonic possibilities of the things and people he comes into contact with. Many of his works are created from found objects, and often incorporate recycled materials. Daniel is founder and director of Pyramid Club.
Tim Barlow’s art practice includes; community based and interactive public art, themed installations, and building concrete sculptures from innovative materials. Recently he has been experimenting with building seawalls made from industrial waste and the fascinating and fast-moving field of optical technology, where data communication collides with the human senses.
Shadow Signals
By Daniel Beban and Tim Barlow
24 April – 15 May
Daniel Beban and Tim Barlow’s immersive, interactive sound installation fills the environment of Toi Põneke gallery for the final exhibition at the Able-Smith Street space.
Visitors activate the installation using their mobile phone’s inbuilt torch-lights to create sound. Movement of the phones through a variety of sculptural objects casts shadows onto solar panels which convert the optical signals into sonic information. The result is in an immediate and direct transposition of the optical into the audible, making possible a kind of ‘signal music’: electronic glitch-scapes, data-noise and shadow-tones.