Inner Space Memorial
[for JG Ballard]
Sound & Sculpture series in memory of the novelist JG Ballard 1930 - 2009
He lived a mile from my studio in the far west fringes of Greater London
His life was astonishing. His central treatise was 'inner space' [as opposed to outer space]
Sound was a vital part of his narrative landscape
The novel Concrete Island inspired my early project in 1996 The Memory Museum
He died in April 2009 while I was reading his autobiography. I was preparing to go and say hello.
He was a full time father and reading his daughter's Eulogy is inspirational
So I've been moved to produce a multiple of works in memory of his legacy
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"Inner Space Memorial [for JG Ballard]"
Loudspeakers, Gramophone Case, Car Stereo Amplifier, CD Player
50 x 42 x 29cm [2009]
A sound sculpture where a pair of white speakers have their cones
re-positioned to play back into the void oftheir own cabinets - the inner space
This sits on a black gramophone case like a monolithic memorial plinth



[little MP4 video file above - if it's not working in Windows change your browser prefs to accept MP4]
[NB: the actual sculpture is stationary - not a rotating piece!]
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Installation at The Bluecoat Gallery
winter 2009/2010




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"Inner Space [for JG Ballard]"
This is the original composition used throughout the series.
A 20 minute hovering shifting uplifting full frequency drone piece
A full blast sound space that envelopes you

To be released on the album 'Exposure' on Cronica Records Portugal Summer 2010
an extract is playing for you now - you can leave the sample playing all day long
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OUT NOW
"Fifty Inner Spaces [for JG Ballard]"
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50 hand lathed 5" records
During cutting the vinyl, the music is played on a continous loop,
and each record is cut live for 2 minutes wherever it may be
Each of the 50 records will sound different
A split release with Stephan Mathieu on Cronica Records, Portugal, 2009
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" Ballardian Soundbites "
Ballard was not a music lover but references to sound in his work are frequently vital
below are a sereis of curated thoughts about sound in the world of Ballard
Kevin Wienke reveals his personal Top 20 references to sound
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Below is the Channel 4 TV news article on Ballard's life and legacy
+ here is a 30min TV interview from 1989 [on BBC in UK]
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Sydney Cooper Gallery, Canterbury, May 2010
exhibited in the group show Inner Space Memorials


see my piece for John Dankworth in the same exhibition
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his house went up for sale in July 2011
the old Ford Granada car gone from the drive