A piano sits in the middle of an empty gallery. All the sound in the room is amplified and the sound passed through loudspeakers which resonate over the piano strings which vibrate into the room in a continuous cyclical process.

This situation is the inverse of a piano amplified.

The piano, instrument, conduit and sculpture. The work, paired down and minimal, continuous and evolving. An aesthetic encompassing a reductive gesturality, part Dada, part Bauhaus and part Fluxus, David Cunningham's installations are all part of one continuous body of work exploring acoustics and subtle sonic dynamics in different locations with changing materials and changing dynamics.

Since 1993 artist and musician David Cunningham has created a continuing series of installation works based on real time exploration of acoustics. 'The Listening Room', Biennale of Sydney (1998) was followed by two installation works in "Days Like These", The Tate Triennial of Contemporary British Art, Tate Britain 2003 and subsequent installations at ICC Tokyo, Ikon Birmingham and Camden Arts Centre London.

This body of work responds acoustically not only to the space but also to the physical presence of its audience, integrating the object of the work with its subject. This self referentiality is central to one of Cunningham's basic principles - sound isn't used to illustrate an idea, it is the idea in itself.

The installations reveal the legacy of Fluxus, the often minimalist exploration of scientific, philosophical, sociological, or other extra-artistic ideas, in this case fused with the sensibility of John Cage's use of silence as a compositional tool. Cage's renowned work 4'33", (four minutes and 33 seconds of silence) shifts the focus of the audience to their immediate situation, to the ambient sound around them.

Cunningham structures that ambience through subtle amplification, by placing microphones and loudspeakers in the gallery.This isolating of sound and its magnification back to us makes us aware of the complexities of our presence in any place we are situated. it is this complexity brought out by subtlety that makes for meaningful and potent art. By being able to explore greater issues through tiny subtleties and an economy of means gives a greater understand of our place and effect in our environment.

This work responds acoustically not only to the proportions and dimensions of the space but also to the physical presence of its audience, integrating the object of the work with its subject. This self referentiality is central to the installation - sound isn't used to illustrate an idea, it is the idea in itself. The work isolates and makes audible the movement of air within a given space, something invisible and so quiet we are normally oblivious to it.

David Cunningham's work has ranged from pop music to gallery installations, including work for television, film, contemporary dance, and a number of collaborations with visual artists. His first significant commercial success came with The Flying Lizards' single 'Money', which reached number 4 in the UK charts in 1979 and was an international hit around the world.

Since his first album release 'Grey Scale' in 1976 he has worked as a composer and record producer, engaging with an eclectic range of people and musics, from pop groups to free improvisation (This Heat, Owada, David Toop, Steve Beresford) to Michael Nyman's music for Peter Greenaway's films and work with Ute Lemper and others.

Live work has involved collaboration and performances with John Cage, Kathy Acker, Michael Nyman, Peter Gordon, Pansonic, Michael Giles, Scanner and others.

Music for film and television has included Ken McMullen's films 'Zina' and (in collaboration with Michael Giles and Jamie Muir) 'Ghost Dance', and a series of television collaborations with visual artists which has included John Latham, David Hall, Stephen Partridge, Bruce McLean. Related work has included the production and treatment of sound for installation and broadcast artworks by Martin Creed, Brad Butler and Karen Mirza, Sam Taylor-Wood, Susan Hiller, João Penalva, Ian Breakwell, Gillian Wearing and many others.

David Cunningham information: http://www.stalk.net/piano/dcbio.htm

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