Ben Gwilliam is an artist who works with sound & music in the cross areas of film, installation & performance. He describes his practice as drawing attention to sound and the contexts of listening & looking, revealing visual and musical processes.
It is from this curiosity about sound-making/recording/finding and how abstract/descriptive that sounds can be, that he makes parallels and similarities unpicking the relationship between uncovered sounds and moments of primary experience.
His work has been performed and exhibited Internationally over the last 10 years, collaborating with musicians such as Claus van Bebber, Espen Jensen, Helmut Lemke, Lee Patterson, Rhodri Davies, Matt Davis, Hainer Woermann, Chris Heenan, Michael Vorfeld, and Sascha Demand, Jason Zeh, Stephen Cornford, Matt Wand amongst others. Since 2004 he has curated several experimental music and sound exhibitions including ‘re:sound’ 2005, UK, ‘Sculpting with Air’ Liverpool Biennial 2006 (co-curated with Lee Patterson), ‘then the silence increased’ (2007) with Helmut Lemke. He has undertaken residencies at La casa encendida Madrid, Hull Time Based Arts, Extrapool (NL), Artists Unlimited (DE), and the University of Salford. He has released sound work on several labels and imprints covering eletrcified lightbulbs+magenetics and a clear sheet of ice as a vinyl record.
CV
MA contemporary Fine Art, University of Salford, 2004-2006
BA Visual Arts, University of Salford, 1999-2002
Selected Exhibitions
Audiograft, (duo show with Stephen Cornford), Modern Art Oxford, 2012
ex.2, worksetting gallery, H.C.M.F, Hudderfield,2010
Verwertung Festival, Berlin, 2010
…menu for murmur, Salford University, 2010
Weihnart 2009, Artists Unlimited, 2009
A few left traces(curator), Chapman Gallery, 2009
TEXT Festival, Bury Art gallery, 2009
Urban/ecology, Liverpool Biennial, 2008
eine kleine musik, Gallery Artists Unlimited, Bielefeld, DE, 2008
Signal, Finetuned, Brighton, 2007
Art+radio (guest selector), Cornerhouse, Manchester 2007
Then the silence increased (curator), Chapman Gallery, Manchester, 2007
Klang-Labor 06, Artoll Kunst Labor, Kleve, DE, 2006
Rogue Wave, FACT, Liverpool, 2006
RE:sound (curator), Mid Pennine Arts, Burnley, 2006
Ben Gwilliam, Borland Gallery, Salford, 2006
‘Unsilently’, CAC, North Adams, USA, 2005.
‘Do something’, Floating IP, Manchester, 2004.
‘Twenty’, Chapman gallery, Salford, 2004.
‘281’, Northern Warehouse, Manchester, 2003.
AD: LIB, Hull Time-based Arts, 2003.
‘Eve of destruction’, international3, Manchester, 2003.
An exercise for speakers and sugar, Salford University, 2002.
Selected Performances
Oxide (II+III), no.w.here labs, 2011
Hands of Hair double bill, Glimmer Film festival, Hull 2011
I married...at Theater Clwyd Wales, & Borderlines Film Festival 2011
I married a foley footstep! (part of unspooling & AND), Greenroom 2010
fourmil plus quarterinch, Castlefield Gallery 2009
MIB night festival, Bremen 2009
If not this, Bury Art Gallery, Manchester 2009
Ryllega Berlin (with Michael Vorfeld & Chris Heenan), Berlin 2008
Salford concert series (co-curator), Manchester/Salford, 2007- current
Common Objects, London, 2006
BETA 2.2 conference, FACT, Liverpool, 2006
Sculpting with air concert series (co-curator), Liverpool Biennial, 2006
Sonic Arts Network Expo 06, Cornerhouse & Victoria baths, Manchester, 2006
‘luminous texts of a broken consciousness’, The Walker Art Gallery, 2006
‘Radio 0’, Hull Art Lab, Hull, 2006
‘Stance’, market gallery, Glasgow, 2005
Alectro_ecoustic, Manchester, 2005
+/minus support, Umist, Manchester 2004
‘We’ve just met’, Salford University, 2003
‘Listening cups in the soundscape’ various locations in Europe, 2002
‘Fonicphist’, Hull Time Based Arts, 7th/8th December 2001;
Residencies
Qo2 Residency, (collaboration with Stephen Cornford) Brussels, 2012
Sound and Music embedded residency (@no.w.here) London, 2011
Brombron, Extrapool, Njimegen, the Netherlands, 2009
Artists Unlimited, Bielefeld, Germany, 2008
Curator in Residence, University of Salford, 2008-2009
‘Artoll Labor 2006’, Germany, 2006.
‘Ineditos 2004’, Obra social, Barcelona, 2004
‘Ineditos 2004’, La casa encendida, Madrid, 2004
‘The Fear’, Hull Time Based Arts, Hull, 2003;
‘Hot House’ (IOU Theatre), Sefton Park Palm house, Liverpool, 2003;
‘Artoll Labor 2002’ Germany, 2002
‘Living room’ Gallery, Peschia, Italy, 2001