Please click the image below for the paper delivered at Seeing Sound 2020 on 12.12.2020 entitled:
Saundaryalahari – a search for a reciprocal audio-visual system
Abstract: The Saundaryalahari project is a series of works based on an 8th Century Indian literary work in Sanskrit written by Adi Shankara called the Soundarya Lahari or Saundaryalahari (Sanskrit: सौन्दर्यलहरी) meaning "Waves Of Beauty”. The outputs of this project explore through music, sound and visuals the “non-verbal” creativity found in these ancient texts while utilising the structuralism of the spiritual/graphic formation of the Sricakra, which defines and arranges the verses from outside to inside. As part of this, the Saundaryalahari sound art “system” utilises signal modified electronics and interactive visuals to attempt to translate image into sound and back again – providing the opportunity for the music to have a “feed forward” loop to regenerate musical materials within a composition and interact directly with the performer or ensemble during a performance.
In this paper, I will explain the genesis and evolution of the current Saundaryalahari reciprocal audio-visual system and why going beyond an arbitrary representation of visuals to audio/music allows for more distinct co-compositional approaches in performance and creation. Considerations on research into synaesthesia, experimental animation and improvisation will be discussed along with an introduction to the most recent Saundaryalahari audio-visual sound art works by the author. The project is funded by a Creative Scotland – Sustaining Creative Research Grant with the goal of exploring how Sound Art works can play a role in potentially transcending inequities of excessive miscommunication (i.e. social media, fake news and other overly prolific verbal/text-based communication in media).
Link to the paper: Saundaryalahari – a search for a reciprocal audio-visual system