Caitlin Rowley's ‘parksong’ series is a set of four experimental vocal works in the form of framed art prints. Each piece functions on three planes simultaneously: As visual art, presented as an object for display; as a textual/graphic ‘recording’ of a performance and a prompt to trigger imagined sound in the viewer’s mind; And as scores, providing all the information required to perform them. The series as a whole investigates the private experience of performance, in both private and public spaces.

They also explore the idea of ‘permission to perform’ and the different approaches of visual art and music towards this. Seth Kim-Cohen, in his book ‘In the Blink of an Ear: Toward a Non-Cochlear Sonic Art’, describes the act of recreating a visual artwork as an act of mimicry; ‘Performing a score on the other hand, is ... an act... of reanimating inert matter’ (p. 50). As visual art, the ‘parksong’ pieces eschew any explicit invitation to reperform them; but they also work with language to pique the viewer’s imagination or to issue a challenge designed to encourage the viewer to experience performing them for themselves.

Australian-born composer Caitlin Rowley’s work explores the boundaries of music, art and text, often combining several media in a single work. Much of her recent work is experimental and interdisciplinary, and encompasses artworks, video, and performance art as well as conventionally notated music. Her music has been performed at venues including Kings Place, the Barbican, the ICA and the Brisbane Powerhouse, and she regularly presents new work at performances by the London-based cross-arts collective Bastard Assignments.

Caitlin studied composition with Peter Sculthorpe at the University of Sydney and Jan Preston at the Australian Film Television and Radio School before undertaking a degree in design focused on New Media. Since moving to the UK in 2005 she has continued her composition studies and has recently become the first composer to graduate from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance’s Master of Fine Arts Creative Practice (Music) course, where her teachers included Errollyn Wallen MBE, Paul Newland and Stephen Montague.

http://caitlinrowley.com