Full name: Jon Law
Organisation: Folkestone Fringe
Currently lives and works in: Folkestone, UK
Practice: Musician and sound artist
Areas of interest: Sound art, installation art and ambient music
Favorite books: I have recently been enjoying We Are the End by Gonzalo C. Garcia and My Struggle series by Karl Ove Knausgaard
Favorite films: Blade Runner
I am a UK-based musician and sound artist with an interest in creating immersive sound installations and performances that make use of drones, improvisation, field recordings and room tones. These works are often realized in unconventional sites because of my practice of recording, manipulating and re-introducing recordings into found spaces.
My practice is highly collaborative and I have had the pleasure of working with a variety of musicians and visual artists in order to explore the fertile territories between music, sonic and visual arts. Since 2014, I have had the privilege of performing and exhibiting in the UK, Ireland and Italy as well as having released works on Holy Geometry and Migro Records.
What inspires you as an artist?
The installation works that I engage in are largely site- and landscape-oriented, which means I spend a lot of time walking in the hope of chancing upon locations that interest me. The spatial qualities and specificities of these spaces are often what inform compositional choices and act as guides to the completion of a work.
The music/performance oriented side of my practice is informed by a wide range of influences from fields such as ambient, drone, and improvisation.
What do you think is the purpose of art?
I am not sure that there is much of a purpose to art, rather that it consists of a set of multifarious, divergent and evolving purposes. It is perhaps this irreducibility to purpose that opens up spaces for experimentation, collaboration and cross-fertilization.
Why are you a part of MagiC Carpets?
I was fortunate to have been put forward for a Magic Carpets project by Georgie Scott from Folkestone Fringe. I was curious to be part of this programme as it allowed for participation in cross-border, -cultural and -institutional exchanges.
MagiC Carpets project: “Terrain Vague”
Terrain Vague is the result of a month-long residency at the New Theatre Institute of Latvia. During this time I undertook a series of semi-improvised journeys around Riga and quickly became interested in the marginal and liminal spaces of the city. I proceeded to explore these spaces through writing, photography and recording.
Past projects Jon Law is proud of
“Inearth”
Type: Site-specific sound installation
Inearth was a site-specific sound installation situated in the Napoleonic era Grand Shaft in Dover. The source material for the composition was the recorded room tone of the tunnel leading towards the triple staircase fortification. This was then recomposed and presented as a four-channel sound installation which allowed for the composition to respond to and maneuver in relation to the architectural idiosyncrasy of the space.
The implementation of the installation was done in collaboration with the volunteers of the Western Height Preservation Society. It was presented as a wider program of events aimed at the cultural enrichment of individuals and the local community.
Video Link: https://vimeo.com/184936197
Contact Jon Law
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +447788201211
Instagram: @jonwlaw
Website: www.jon-law.co.uk