MICHAEL FAIRFAX

PUBLIC ARTIST, SCULPTOR, DESIGNER

Michael Fairfax is a public artist, sculptor and sound artist. For the past 30 years predominantly a public artist but more recently working with sound/music. In 1972 Michael studied ‘Musique Concrete’ in London with Ernest Berk. Later Michael created sound pieces for the Greenham Common Camera Obscura installation and during Year of the Artist a sound installation at Hestercombe House, Somerset. Michael pursued his public art career alongside a period of sound exploration which culminated in him forming an electric improv band called Tapes+Ashes featuring Matt Saunders as Salix, Barry Witherden as Meles and Michael as Quercus. that dissolved into Gimlet-Eyed Mariners featuring Barry and Michael, they have a debut album due for release later this year on the ‘Slightly out of Kilter’ label. Michael has been working solo under the guise of ‘Lepus’ and ‘Michael Fairfax’ most recently on a project with the composer Jessica Curry, Jo Fairfax brother, artist and film maker and Welsh National Opera on a project called ‘Electroclassic’. They are working with the principal players to create a new piece of work that looks into ‘Intellectual Property’ issues. This can be viewed on the blog site http://electroclassic.tumblr.com/.

The cd ‘lepus and friends’ can now be ordered via my email at michaelfairfax(at)eclipse.co.uk or listen to the album via:http://www.last.fm/music/michael+fairfax

Tapes+Ashes can be heard either their myspace site: http://www.myspace.com/tapesandashes

Or listen to the Gilmet-Eyed Mariners at http://www.myspace.com/gimleteyedmarinersimprov

Or watched live on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsGw2L7HXbA

Listen to 'Bees' below.
Bees was the introductory piece I created for the first workshop for the WNO principal players that was part of the project Electro Classic.

The graphic score (below) describes a cycle of creation and destruction, beginning with the birth of the Universe, DUST. Subtle dust and charged energy builds up, breaking into the human presence. Life on earth. Humanity's spirit bursts forth with the human voice, using the words of Walt Whitman (see below). A massive vortex bulids up, the heavens open and the violence of a blackhole absorbs everything -.....d ..u.. s ..t...........

Walt Whitman poem “Leaves of Grass”

Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of

all poems,
You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there are millions
of suns left,)
You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through
the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books,
You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,
You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.

Michael Fairfax 2011