Sounds of the Tamar taken to Turkey for international arts exhibition

An innovative sonic arts project which aimed to immerse audiences beneath the surface of the River Tamar is to be showcased at a major new exhibition in Turkey. Fathom , created by Plymouth University media arts specialists Jane Grant and John Matthias, used cutting edge technology to create an artificial surface 6ft above the floor of a 17th century Royal Navy victualing yard. Now they have been invited to show their work at the Kasa Gallery in Istanbul as part of a new exhibition, which aims to provide visitors with an insight into sound art practices. Artist Jane Grant and musician and composer John Matthias, who won the PRS Foundation’s New Music Award in 2008 for their celebrated work, The Fragmented Orchestra, said: “When it was originally shown, Fathom captivated audiences by creating an immersive sonic experience where the volume of one material, water, meets another, air. The changeability of the interaction of these two materials brought together the atmospheric and the submarine, lived human spaces, temporal and ethereal. It is a fantastic opportunity to be able to share Fathom with a much wider, and international audience, and we hope they too will be inspired by the sounds emitted from beneath the ocean waves. Fathom , commissioned by the River Tamar Project, was the centrepiece of a public event to launch It’s All About the River , a year-long project culminating in a film festival which celebrates the historical, cultural and industrial importance of the River Tamar, which forms the border between Devon and Cornwall.