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Field Song is an exciting new collaborative project between sculpture/installation artist Harriet Bowman and pianist/composer Ben Socrates. They are creating an innovative sound art installation - an experience dependent on and controlled by viewer interaction. Field Song takes the idea of generative music and adds a tactile visual element - a magnetised framework of hanging metal sculptures that repel from visitors passing through the space. Each group of magnets is fitted with a sensor that when passed, triggers a pre-recorded sample from speakers encircling the room. The intention is that the audience determines the music depending on the path they take through the room, to create a harmonized and stimulating space to be in but with the potential to become overwhelming as the sound builds and intensifies.

Field Song has recently been announced as a winner of the Ideas Fund Innovators Brief - we will now recieve £1000 of funding from Ideas Tap to help produce and promote the installation, with the intention of exhibiting the piece in Bristol, Brighton, London, and beyond!

Harriet Bowman is an artist currently studying a BA in fine art at the University of the West of England in Bristol. Harriet likes to combine elements of science and art into her installations to make for an evocative and educational experience. She has recently exhibited in and around Bristol using hand crafted magnets suspended from the ceiling of the space. Field Song is a new collaborative venture and a continuation of these previous ideas, and an exciting experience to further her practise.

Ben Socrates is a musician currently studying an MMus in Piano Performance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Ben specialises in classical/contemporary repertoire but also has a considerable background in jazz, world music and improvisation. He has written music for solo piano, chamber ensembles and electronics. Field Song represents a new challenge in composing with technology to produce generative music in a tactile space.