NOEL OGANYAN
'Mayfair's Sound Map' is an interactive installation project which explores the sound as a medium of reality and challenges the traditional notions of a map. The concept behind this project involves a complete switch to sonic information. The creation of the map involved a thorough sonic research of the Mayfair area: the colour of the map represents the average volume of the city noise in the area. The recordings made on 10 different locations allow listeners to dive into the ambience of the area and imagine what the location can look like based on the provided field recording.
Interestingly, this led to researching Mayfair's architecture and history, to find out how these aspects of urban planning influence it's sound. It also encouraged me to study the ways that urban sound influences the mood and mental health of the population. More research needs to be conducted in sonic architecture to improve mental health and general well-being of London's citizens as load noises of the city (marked as orange and red, >40 dB) cause anxiety and stress. Moreover, the research showed that property in the quieter areas (marked green and yellow, <40 dB) is considerably more expensive than in the louder areas, so the importance of sonic conditions is acknowledged by developers.
Of course, it enrages me that a major part of the public believes that musicians should play in tune. Nonsense. Soon they will require musicians to remember the lyrics to their songs. Wild, spoiled world.
'Coffee & Booze (For The Working Class)' is an EP which reflects on the modern dance music and rave culture. I know people who are genuinely in love with electronic music for the sake of music itself and dance sober until morning. And they do not have the habit of seeking useless adrenaline. At that time of producing these tracks everything just coincided for me: youth, a new country, open borders, lots of information, freedom of choice and a field for experiments. In many ways I have remained true to that infantile perception of the world, without which it is impossible to get out into the night.
'Alt Landscape' is a fiction concept for an alternative landscape world. It was initially planned as an installation, which would allow a user an absolute control over landscape to represent the human influence and freedom over the planet. However, it was never made into a physical object and instead inspired 'The Foil Radio Station' project.
'Personal Values' is a project dedicated to the life and practice of Rene Magritte. 'Personal Values' is a painting by him that features several household items, some of them oversized. In my interpretation of his work I have taken pictures of different students' rooms to represent their own personal values. Each polaroid photo was taken twice and one of them was given to the owner of a room as a memory of their time in student halls. The rooms at student halls are all white canvases for students to 'decorate' and I find it fascinating to see every individual's approach.
'Zenit-ET' is a collection of black and white film photos made on a vintage soviet camera. These photos document my journey around London and the south of England.
'The Grace Of Madness' is a jewellery piece created on a series of jewellery making workshops to commemorate the history of the British monarchy. The details and materials of this bracelet represent the different eras the British monarchy went through, such as The Wars Of Roses and the regiment of the 'mad' king George III. It was also inspired by the series of novels by Maurice Druon called The Accursed Kings, which provided insights into the lives of the European monarchs.
'Omne Animal Triste Est' is an illustration project that reflects on semiotics of nature and depersonalisation of animals and degrading them to the objects of decoration and human pleasing. This work involved deep research into the history of animal illustration. The manmade image of perfect animal or pet minimises the 'wildlife'.
'Dryflower' is a jewellery collection that celebrated the wealth of Earth's nature. Traditionally, only expensive materials like silver or gold are considered worthy. The aim of this project was to represent the beauty of the natural elements. It references back to the history of tribal jewellery culture and semiotics of stones, wood, flowers, etc.
