Lisa O Brien Statement
Lisa O'Brien (b.1967) is an artist based on the West Coast of Scotland. . In the 80's she studied Expressive Arts at Brighton Polytechnic which included music composition, performance and sculpture. During this time she developed an interest in working with classical instruments and the voice, and exploring the whole spectrum of sounds they offered such as clicking keys on wind instruments, using the body of string instruments percussively and scoring parts for abstract, unintelligible vocal sounds. After completing her degree she moved to Milan, Italy where she studied Italian language. Much of her subsequent composition and performance work looked to push the boundaries of how instruments and language can be abstracted and juxtaposed to create an interpretation of an event or experience. Her work as a composer has been performed nationally at venues such as the British Music Information Centre, London, the National Geographic Building London and she won the Princes Trust Young Composers Award in 1992 with her piece Losing Gravity .
Over the past two years, she has been developing a fine art practice which stems from her interest in sound and spoken word, but which is looking to acknowledge that the time and space based elements of sound are co-dependent and this has resulted in a desire to work with the visual representation of space and place. "Because sound is time based or durational it is tied to space and therefore place. It is the indivisible aspect of time and place and their contribution to a precise consciousness which intrigues me. By juxtaposing sound and image, not always using matching field recordings and real time, I want to draw attention to temporality, to question realities, to take time to experience fleeting moments and their universal qualities. Sound and visual are of equal importance in my work, I want them to comment on each other and present shifting perspectives. And by interrupting the natural link between sound and image I want to try and raise the viewer's awareness that they are not the centre of the piece. Exposing the construction of some pieces is an attempt to suggest an alternative reality to the viewer. To show a truer reality in addition to the spectacle. I'm also interested in siteing temporary pieces outside of the gallery as I want to work with an additional dimension to the work, that of the memory of the piece."