//You are standing outside a rambling house in Boorloo/Perth. The hedge at the front gate is humming with happy, busy bees taking pollen from the flowers. A pleasant sea breeze is keeping you cool underneath the shade of a (link-rerun:"red flowering gum")[ {(t8n:"zoom")+(t8n-time:0.4s)(dialog:"Corymbia ficifolia, commonly known as red flowering gum, is a species of small tree that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.","Okay")}]. The front door opens, and a stocky Asian person approaches you, a fawn (link-rerun:"dog")[{
(t8n:"zoom")+(t8n-time:0.4s)(dialog:"The dog gazes at you expectantly with big, brown eyes. She is wearing a pink harness with the name tag, 'Nira'. She wags her tail and gives you a smile.","give Nira a pat")
}] following closely behind..//
=|=
|A1>[Hello?]
=|=
(set:_t to 0)\
(click-rerun:"Hello?")[(set:_t to it+1)(nth:_t, "Hi!","Hello!","Nice to see you!", "Come inside!")]
=|=
|==|
=|=
|B1>[(link-rerun: "Who are you??")[(show:?B2)]]
=|=
|B2)[My name is W. Sze Tsang, and I am an audio-visual artist, performer and researcher living in Boorloo/Perth, Western Australia. I perform under the name //samarobryn//. I acknowledge that I live, work, and play on the unceded lands of the Whadjuk Noongar people, and pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging.
This is my website. I also have a soft spot for text-based games.
[[living room<-Come inside and take a seat.]]]
|==|
---
Last updated: 17th March, 2024.
If you're curious, you can have a read on the [[updates<-latest changes to the website]], or the [[rationale<-rationale behind I've structured my website this way]].
//Sze pours you a cup of hot green tea. You are handed a sheet which reads://
---
(text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[W. Sze Tsang - Artist Biography]
Dr W. Sze Tsang (they/them) is a published researcher, performer, composer and audio-visual artist residing in Boorloo/Perth, Western Australia. Sze's practice and research focuses on the relationships between self and place through audio-visual works, and their experience as a practitioner-researcher. Their practice involves incorporating audio and visual elements of place into compositions, as a form of emotional catharsis.
Sze has presented at international and national conferences and published academic writings on soundscape composition. Sze's PhD thesis completed in 2023, //The cartographies of place: Approaches to audio-visual composition incorporating aspects of place//, based on how the ephemerality of sound reflects the ephemerality of being, and the fragility inherent in any relationship with place, was awarded the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) School Research Medal.
Sze performs and has exhibited works nationally and internationally as //samarobryn//, and also regularly performs at venues around Boorloo/Perth. Some of Sze's commissions include State Library of Western Australia, Tura New Music, the Difficult Listening Project and the You Are Here festival. Sze was selected for the 2024 Digital Fellowship program through Creative Australia, and has also performed at various festivals including JOLT, WAMFest, Fringeworld and Strange Festival. As a sound designer, Sze has worked on various shows including Michelle Hall's //The Dirty Mother//, Daisy Sander's //Night Dancing//, and Georgi Iver's //You're So Brave//.
---
Would you like some [[fun facts]]? Or [[living room<-had enough about me?]]
//You walk down a corridor with three opened doors - one directly facing you, one on your left and one on your right. From where you are standing, you can see some of each room. The room on your left is flooded by natural light and is filled with plants. The room on the right is dark, save for the light emanating from screens fixed onto the walls. The last room is warmly lit by a floor lamp in the corner, and is filled with beanbags.//
I would be delighted to show you my work. Would you like to see some audio-visual work? Perhaps you want to listen to some sounds? Or maybe you're in the mood for some photography?
[[sounds<-Go left (to the listening room).]]
[[photography<-Go right (to the photography room).]]
[[audio-visual work<-Go straight ahead (to the audio-visual room).]]
[[living room<-Step back to the living room.]]
//You walk over towards a wall of bookshelves. On one of the shelves, a small box periodically flashes some words. As Sze introduces their work, you realise they are keywords related to their research.//
<center>(box:"=XX=")+(border:"solid")+(corner-radius:8)[{(live: 2.0s)+(t8n:"fade")[(either: "sound", "place", "self", "composition", "landscape", "recordings", "walking", "maps", "rivers", "personal", "history", "autoethnography","audio-visual", "catharsis", "sonification", "visualisation", "acoustic ecology", "psychogeography", "immersion", "embodiment")
]}]</center>
My research is primarily focused on exploring the intersections between place, self and compositional practices. I am interested in the dialogues that can exist across temporalities, and how these dialogues can be represented through audio-visual compositions that incorporate both physical and aural aspects of the landscape. Along the way, I touch on autoethnography, sonification, psychogeography, field recording, sound art practices and sound-mapping.
For an in-depth dive into my practice, where I discuss my methodology, conceptual influences and the creative processes behind a selection of my work, you can read my PhD thesis, which I submitted in 2023 at the <a href="https://www.waapa.ecu.edu.au/" target="_blank">Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts</a>: <a href="https://doi.org/10.25958/y35t-2940" target="_blank">The cartographies of place: Approaches to audio-visual composition incorporating aspects of place</a>.
To read my discussion on how digital technologies can be used to reconnect artistic practice with place, and the importance of not being constrained by technology, check out my chapter, <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-45693-0_8" target="_blank">Artist and Agency: Technologies for Exploring Self and Place</a> in the book <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-45693-0" target="_blank">Creative Tools and the Softwarization of Cultural Production (2024)</a>, published by Palgrave Macmillan.
---
(text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[Journal Articles]
<a href="https://journal.computermusic.org.au/chroma/article/view/7/9" target="_blank">Exploring aspects of place through sound mapping (2022)</a> – Chroma: Journal of the Australasian Computer Music Association, 38(1).
<a href="https://fusion-journal.com/issue/019-listening-in-the-anthropocene/sound-art-as-ways-of-exploring-aspects-of-place/" target="_blank">Sound Art as ways of exploring aspects of place (2021)</a> – Fusion Journal, 19.
<a href="http://ro.ecu.edu.au/soundscripts/vol6/iss1/16" target="_blank">Addressing Climate Change Scepticism Through the Sonic Arts (2019)</a> – Soundscripts, 6(1).
<a href="http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/3566" target="_blank">Finding meaning in data: Using data elements to sonify and visualize the found environment (2017)</a> – The Soundtrack, 9(1-2).
---
(text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[Conference proceedings:]
<a href="https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/8237/" target="_blank">Composing soundscapes from a single field recording (2019)</a> – Australasian Computer Music Conference 2019.
<a href="http://www.studiomusicatreviso.it/icnmc/library/Paper_50_2018.pdf" target="_blank">Resounding landscapes–combining psychogeography and elements of the landscape as composition (2018)</a> – 5th International Conference on New Music Concepts (ICNMC 2018)
<a href="http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworkspost2013/2124" target="_blank">Hexadecimal compositions – using HEX data to sonify images of the found environment (2016)</a> – Australasian Computer Music Conference 2016.
---
Enough reading? [[living room<-Head back to the couch.]]//You notice that the far side of the living room is covered in old show posters. There is also a shelf filled with memorabilia from various shows. You also notice a corridor with three doors nearby.//
Happy to show you where I've played and exhibited works! Which year do you want to view?
[[2024]]
[[2023]]
[[2022]]
[[2021]]
[[2020]]
[[2019]]
[[2018]]
[[2017]]
[[2016]]
[[2015]]
[[2014]]
[[2013]]
[[2012]]
[[living room<-Head back to the couch.]]
[[work<-Walk down the corridor.]](text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[2024]
April 27 - The Bird (w/ Veils)
April 11 - Audible Edge - Night School
Mar 23 - PMX Album Launch @ Mojos (guest)
Jan 27 – Burnt Seed Records – Sprouted Vol 1 Launch Party @ Hyde Park (samarobryn/solo)
[[performances and exhibitions<-Look away.]] (text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[2023]
Dec 1 – Mothers Who Make Opening Night @ Midland Junction Arts Centre (soundwork)
Nov 9 – ALT @ The Bird (samarobryn/solo)
Sept 1 – Nov 24 – SINE @ Wallace (opening night performance/audio-visual work)
Aug 27 – Mind Warp Pavillion – Aladdin Sane @ Lyric Lane (performer)
Aug 25 – Outcome Unknown @ Old Customs House (w/ Veils)
Aug 22 – NoizeMaschin @ The Bird (w/ Ghostland)
Aug 17 – 19 – Cry Baby @ INDance, Sydney (performer)
June 17 – Strange Festival (w/Veils)
May 30 – NoizeMaschin @ The Bird (w/ Veils)
Mar 27 – 31 – Michelle Hall and the Dirty Others @ Midland Junction Arts Centre (sound+performance)
Mar 28 – NoizeMaschin @ The Bird (samarobryn/solo)
Feb 24 – Lyric Lane (w/Dusk)
Feb 21 – The Bird (w/ Veils)
Feb 4 – The Bird (w/ Veils)
Jan 7 – The Mind Warp Pavillion 7 @ Freo.Social (performer)
[[performances and exhibitions<-Look away.]] (text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[2022]
Nov 18 – Blue Veils Residency, Old Customs House (samarobryn/audiovisual)
Nov 5 – WAMFest 2022 (samarobryn/solo)
Nov 1-11 – MERCURY BONES @ Situ-8, Liberty Theatre (performer)
Oct 22 – Old Habits Neighbourhood Bar (w/ Dusk)
Oct 18-24 – You’re So Brave @ The Blue Room Theatre (sound design)
Oct 8 – Lyric Lane (w/Broken Gnomes)
Sept 24 – The Aardvark (w/ Dusk)
Sept 7-11 – Cage Room @ Musikfestival Bern, Switzerland (samarobryn/solo)
Aug 31 – Sept 1 – ACMC 2022 @ Wellington, New Zealand (samarobryn/solo)
July 30 – Whale and Ale (w/ Broken Gnomes)
July 26 – NoizeMaschin#127 (samarobryn/solo)
May 1 – 28 – Banksias Under Snow @ Ellenbrook Arts (composer + video works)
April 14 – Night Dancing @ KickstART Festival (samarobryn/solo, with Daisy Sanders)
Mar 29 – NoizeMaschin#125 – online edition (samarobryn/solo)
Mar 18-April 1 – Night Dancing Residency @ State Theatre (samarobryn/solo, with Daisy Sanders)
Mar 12 – Lyric Lane (w/ Broken Gnomes)
Jan 24-29 – The Dirty Mother @ State Of Play, Fringeworld (performer, sound design)
[[performances and exhibitions<-Look away.]] (text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[2021]
Dec 22 – NoizeMaschin!! Christmas Party (samarobryn)
Dec 12 – Lyric Lane (w/PMX)
Dec 11 – Aardvark (w/PMX)
Dec 5 – Mojos (w/PMX)
Nov 30 – NoizeMaschin!! (samarobryn/solo)
Nov 22-Jan 23 – York Botanic Art Prize (sound work for Claire Busby and Donna Franklin – Gallery 152, York)
Nov 12 – Lyric Lane (w/PMX)
Oct 17 – Mojos (w/ PMX)
Oct 15 – Shock Of The New (samarobryn/solo)
Sept 23-Oct 14 – Feminist responses to climate change: Unruly experimentations for unstable times (exhibition – Gallery25, ECU)
Aug 28 – Mojos (w/ PMX)
Aug 26-27 ACMC 2021 (samarobryn/solo)
Aug 20 – Rodney’s Bait and Tackle (w/ PMX)
Aug 13 – Sewing Room (w/ Broken Gnomes)
Aug 6-8 – Cry Baby @ Rechabite (musician)
July 31 – Sonar Room (w/ Broken Gnomes)
July 30 – Lyric Lane (w/ PMX)
July 23 – Mojos (w/ PMX)
Jue 12 – The Lucky Goat (w/ PMX)
June 4 – Broken Gnomes EP launch @ Clancy’s
May 22 – Lynnot’s Lounge (w/ PMX)
May 14 – Broken Gnomes EP launch @ Lyric Lane
April 22 – WAAPA Postgraduate Showcase (samarobryn/solo)
Mar 20 – The Underlyers House Party (w/ PMX)
Mar 12 – Mojos (w/ PMX)
Mar 6 – The Aardvark (w/ PMX)
Jan 30 – Basadena 01 (samarobryn/solo)
Jan 15-17 – Cry Baby @ Perth Fringe, State Theatre Courtyard (musician)
Jan 9 – The Rechabite (The Mind Warp Pavillion 5)
Jan 8 – Lyric Lane (w/PMX)
[[performances and exhibitions<-Look away.]] (text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[2020]
Dec 31 – Lines Community Stream #4 (samarobryn/solo)
Dec 18-31 – The Dirty Mother – Limited Online Season
Dec 19 – The Lucky Goat (w/PMX)
Dec 11 – Clancy’s (w/ PMX)
Dec 5 – Milk Bar (w/ Broken Gnomes)
Dec 5 – Spectrum Project Space (samarobryn/solo)
Nov 24 – NoizeMaschin!! #113 (samarobryn/solo)
Nov 21-26 – The Dirty Mother, Melbourne Fringe (performance, sound design)
Oct 24 – Lyric Lane (w/ Broken Gnomes)
Oct 16 – Shock Of The New (samarobryn/solo)
Sept 17 – WAAPA Postgraduate Showcase (samarobryn/solo)
Aug 20 – Outcome Unknown, Paper Mountain (samarobryn/solo)
Aug 15 – Lyric Lane (w/Broken Gnomes)
July 6 – ACMC 2020 (samarobryn/solo)
June 20 – Lines Community Stream #2 (samarobryn/solo)
June 19 – Lyric Lane (w/ Broken Gnomes)
May 22 – Shock Of The New (samarobryn/solo)
May 10 – Lines Community Stream #1 (samarobryn/solo)
April 7 – MIUC Online Concert #3 (samarobryn/solo)
March 10 – TURA Soup Nights 6 @ Lyric Lane (samarobryn/solo)
Feb 29-Mar 2 – Nannup Music Festival (w/ Broken Gnomes)
Jan 31 – Lyric Lane (w/ Broken Gnomes)
Jan 17-23 – The Dirty Mother, Summer Nights @ Blue Room Theatre, Fringeworld Festival (performance, sound design)
[[performances and exhibitions<-Look away.]] (text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[2019]
Oct 18 – Outcome Unknown (samarobryn/solo), North Perth
Sept 21 – JOLT Sonic Festival (samarobryn/solo), Melbourne
Aug 11 – WAAPA Open Day
July 26 – Aug 3 – The Dirty Mother @ Winter Nights Festival, The Blue Room Theatre (performance, sound design)
July 27 – ACMC 2019 (Corridor – audiovisual work)
July 19 – samarobryn @ Gender Diversity in Music Making conference
July 18 – Decibel Turns 10 @ Gender Diversity in Music Making conference (samarobryn/solo)
July 17 – Drum Improvisation @ Gender Diversity in Music Making conference (w/ Nat Grant)
July 13 – SeenSound July Edition, LOOP Bar Melbourne (audiovisual work)
June 7 – The Aardvark, Fremantle (w/ Marley Wynn)
May 19 – Limited Hangout V
May 10 – Shock Of The New, Spectrum Project Space (samarobryn/solo)
April 12 – Basso Hotel (w/ Broken Gnomes)
Mar 7-8 – mixtape #IWD, DIT Ireland (samarobryn/solo)
Feb 5-9 – The Dirty Mother, Fringe Festival (sound editing)
[[performances and exhibitions<-Look away.]] (text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[2018]
Dec 8 – Super Secret Squirrel House Party (samarobryn + Furchick)
Dec 6-8 – ACMC 2018 (Water Study – audiovisual work)
Nov 27 – Noizemachinn!, Artifactory (samarobryn + Furchick)
Nov 22-26 – Blink Photography Awards Exhibition, Osborne Community Hub (photography)
Nov 14 – Flyin’ Shoes, Fremantle (samarobryn/solo)
Nov 3 – WAMFest @ Red Room, Brass Monkey (w/ Marley Wynn)
Nov 3 – WAMFest @ Wesley Church (samarobryn/solo)
Nov 2 – Prince Of Wales, Bunbury (w/ Marley Wynn)
Nov 1 – WAMFest Pop-Up set (samarobryn/solo)
Oct 28 – Fremantle Arts Centre (w/ Marley Wynn)
Oct 12 – Shock Of The New, Spectrum Project Space (samarobryn/solo)
Sept 21 – Basso Hotel (w/ Broken Gnomes aka Persian Love)
Sept 2 – Limited Hangout II, Herdsman Lake
August 11 – Low Ball aka Sound Poetry, Perth Poetry Festival, Perth Artifactory (w/ Furious Audio Description)
July 29 – Limited Hangout I, Narrows Bridge
July 28 – SeenSound July Edition, LOOP Bar Melbourne (audiovisual work)
July 10 – Make It Up Club, Melbourne (samarobryn x gravy murphy)
July 8 – Gender and Diversity in Music Making Conference , Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne (samarobryn/solo)
May 11th – Shock Of The New, Spectrum Project Space (samarobryn/solo)
April 29th – In The Pines (with Furchick’s Slinky Dinks Orchestra)
April 7th – Wave Turntable, McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, San Francisco USA (samarobryn/solo)
March 4th – Nannup Music Festival (w/ Persian Love)
March 3rd – Nannup Music Festival (w/ Persian Love)
Feb 3rd – Mind Warp Pavillion II, Gate One Theatre
[[performances and exhibitions<-Look away.]] (text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[2017]
Nov 19th – Ashes Of Burnt Sage (with Sage Pbbt and ensemble), RTRFM’s 40th Anniversary, Perth Concert Hall
Oct 29th – Totally Huge New Music Festival, (w/ Ensemble) A Wave And Waves
Oct 11th – HASS Conference, WAAPA Music Auditorium (samarobryn/solo)
Oct 7th – Shock Of The New, Spectrum Project Space (samarobryn/solo)
Sept 30th – ACMC 2017, Elder Hall, Adelaide (samarobryn/solo)
Sept 23rd – WAAPA Research Showcase, WAAPA Music Auditorium (samarobryn/solo)
April 7th – Hen House Live (w/ Potato Stars)
April 1st – The Sixty30 (w/ Potato Stars)
Feb 23rd – March 10th – Making The Makestra Exhibition and Residency, Spectrum Project Space
Feb 10th – Potato Stars EP launch (samarobryn/solo, Potato Stars)
Jan 7th – Mind Warp Pavillion, Gate One Theatre
[[performances and exhibitions<-Look away.]] (text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[2016]
Nov 10th -13th – Seeing Sound, Kaleidoscope Festival, Joondalup (audiovisual installation)
Oct 29th – Rockin’ For West Papua – The Railway Hotel (w/ Potato Stars)
Oct 26th – Peggy Glanville-Hicks Address, State Library of Western Australia (w/ Nicole Canham and Decibel)
Sept 16th – North Freo Bowling Club (w/ Potato Stars)
Sept 1st – Rosemount Hotel (w/ Potato Stars)
Jun 24th – Swan Basement – Punks For West Papua (w/ Potato Stars)
Jun 17th – Potato Stars EP Launch – Bassendean Hotel (w/ Potato Stars)
May 13th – Shock Of The New, Spectrum Project Space (timeofhex/solo)
May 7th – Swan Basement (w/ Potato Stars)
April 26th – Perth Artifactory (timeofhex/solo)
April 17th – You Are Here Festival, Smith’s Alternative, Canberra (as part of the Readycut Residency)
April 13th – You Are Here Festival, The Club, Canberra (timeofhex/solo)
April 1st – Sound Thought Festival, Glasgow Scotland (audiovisual work)
Mar 20th – The Axeman’s Benefit – Mojos (w/ Potato Stars)
Mar 19th – Basso RSL (w/ Potato Stars)
Jan 16th – Basso RSL (w/ Potato Stars)
Jan 13th – Bar120 (w/ Potato Stars)
[[performances and exhibitions<-Look away.]] (text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[2015]
Dec 5th – Jimmy’s Den (timeofhex/solo, Potato Stars)
November – The Conversation (artist and book design), Joondalup Art Gallery
Oct 4th – Yardstock @ 208 (w/ Potato Stars)
Sept 27th – Defector’s Bar (timeofhex/solo)
Sept 16th – The Good Shepherd (w/ Potato Stars)
Sept 12th – Swan Basement (w/ Potato Stars)
Aug 6th – Velvet Lounge (timeofhex/solo, Potato Stars)
Apr 26 – May 1 – ART-Town Exhibition, Chapel Off Chapel, Melbourne (photography)
Apr 11th – Equinox Bar, Phnom Penh Cambodia (timeofhex/solo, Potato Stars)
Apr 9th – X Bar, Siem Reap Cambodia (timeofhex/solo, Potato Stars)
Apr 8th – Sharky’s, Phnom Penh Cambodia (timeofhex/solo, Potato Stars)
Apr 2-3 – ART-Town, Chapel Street Precinct, Melbourne
Mar 31st – PICA Open Studio Night – for The Prevention, with arts in practice (music and performance)
Mar 3rd – The Bird (timeofhex/solo)
[[performances and exhibitions<-Look away.]] (text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[2014]
Dec 20th – Swan Lounge (timeofhex/solo)
Dec 13th – Swan Lounge (timeofhex/solo)
Dec 3rd – Four5Nine (timeofhex/solo)
Jun 14th – Swan Basement (w/ In Orbit)
May 23rd – Swan Basement (w/ In Orbit)
April 16th – Rosemount Hotel (w/ In Orbit)
Mar 22nd – Swan Lounge (w/ In Orbit)
Mar 14th – Swan Lounge (w/ In Orbit)
Feb 8th – Railway Hotel (w/ In Orbit)
Jan 23rd – Rosemount Hotel (w/ In Orbit)
[[performances and exhibitions<-Look away.]] (text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[2013]
Dec 28th – Swan Lounge (w/ In Orbit)
Dec 27th – Civic Hotel (w/ In Orbit)
Nov 30th – Swan Basement (w/ In Orbit)
Nov 23rd – Swan Basement (w/ In Orbit)
Nov 9th – Swan Basement (w/ In Orbit)
Oct 25th – North Freo Bowls Club (w/ In Orbit)
Oct 5th – North Freo Bowls Club (w/ In Orbit)
Aug 10th – Swan Lounge (w/ In Orbit)
Aug 3rd – Railway Hotel (w/ In Orbit)
Jul 26th – Swan Lounge (w/ In Orbit)
Jul 4th – The Bird (w/ In Orbit)
Jun 30th – Swan Lounge (w/ In Orbit)
May 30th – Rosemount Hotel (w/ In Orbit)
May 17th – Swan Hotel (w/ In Orbit)
Apr 13th – Lark Hill Auditorium (w/ In Orbit)
Jan 26th – Swan Basement (w/ In Orbit)
[[performances and exhibitions<-Look away.]] (text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[2012]
December – Human +/- Nature, Kurb Gallery, Perth (artist, co-curator)
Sept 7th – Railway Hotel (w/ In Orbit)
Sept 1st – The Flytrap (w/ In Orbit)
Aug 31 – Swan Lounge (w/ In Orbit)
Aug 26th – Railway Hotel (w/ In Orbit)
Aug 16th – Market City Tavern (w/ In Orbit)
Aug 3rd – Railway Hotel (w/ In Orbit)
[[performances and exhibitions<-Look away.]] Some fun facts about me:
I live with a rescue dog called Nira. I adopted her from A1 Wheatbelt, a dog rescue based in the WA Wheatbelt, in 2019. She is mostly staffy with some rottweiler, mastiff, cattle dog and mini bull terrier, and 100% good girl.
I love growing succulents - I love their shapes, colours, resilience and how it encourages community sharing through passing cuttings between friends - and I am always in need of pots.
I have been involved with the Boorloo/Perth music scene since ~2008. Aside from being a performer, I have also been a live music photographer and music reviewer (for publications such as FasterLouder, Perthbands.com, Spaceship News and Around The Sound, as well as for RTRFM and Perth Fringe), WAM Song of the Year judge and Girls Rock mentor.
I love playing video games - my current game-of-choice is Baldur's Gate III. I also have a soft spot for the Fallout and Diablo series. Another game I have a soft spot for is FFXIV - my comfort game through my PhD candidature.
//samarobryn// comes from a Nostradamus quatrain, which reads:
//Very great famine through pestiferous wave,
Through long rain the length of the arctic pole:
Samarobryn one hundred leagues from the hemisphere,
The will live without law exempt from politics.//
[[living room<-Had enough about me? Back to the living room.]]
[[about<- Re-read the serious bio.]]
There are a few ways of contacting me:
Firstly, the old-fashioned way. You can email me: wszetsang(at)gmail.com.
To keep up with my latest happenings, you can find me on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samarobryn/" target="_blank" title="samarobryn on Instagram"> Instagram (regularly updated)</a> or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samarobrynAU" target="_blank" title="samarobryn on Facebook"> Facebook (semi-regularly updated)</a>.
[[living room<-Look around some more]].
(text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[Selected Audio-Visual Work]
//You enter a room dominated by a large screen. A floor lamp casts a warm, cosy glow over the room. Scattered around the floor are bean bags. As you walk into the room, you are handed a remote control. You notice it controls a cursor on the screen. A series of works appears on the screen and you flick through the descriptions.//
Here is a selection of work I've done over the years.
Stay as long as you like.
---
''SLWA Commission (2022)''
<img src="https://samarobryn.work/images/the-stolen-heart-ss.png" height="100%" width="100%">
Four works commissioned as part of the Corridors of Blissterday project, by the State Library of Western Australia in partnership with West Australian Music, to reimagine the State Library archives. The series of works was an interpretation of the State Library's historical map series 45/9-16 historical map series from 1880-1900. The works are held in the <a href="https://encore.slwa.wa.gov.au/iii/encore/search/C__STsang%2C%20Sze%2C__Orightresult?lang=eng&suite=def" target="_blank" title="Link to the videos">State Library collections</a>.
---
''The Lost (2021)''
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/557531705?h=1cd629decc" width="740" height="460" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
A contemplation on loss and the sensation of grief. Based on the lost wetlands of Perth/Boorloo, combined with a field recording from Herdsman Lake (one of the remnants of the Perth/Boorloo wetland system).
---
''The End is The Beginning (2020)''
<iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/496146710?h=0e894c5701" width="740" height="460" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Farewelling 2020, as part of the Lines Community Stream - Sunset Twenty Twenty edition. Part terror, part hope.
Originally streamed on: <a href="http://twitch.tv/lines_community" target="_blank">twitch.tv</a>
---
''Outbreak (2020)''
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/405288081?h=fe3753d72c" width="740" height="460" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Field recordings combined with sonified data on Australian COVID-19 infection rates.
Data sonified - NSW infection rates from 4th March - 3rd April, and WA infection rates from 22nd March - 3rd April
Data source: The Guardian.
---
''Water Study''
<iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/263300521?h=bca091896e" width="740" height="460" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Created from a field recording of water streaming down The Burren, during my residency at Burren College of Art, Ireland.
---
''Corridor (2017)''
<iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/319186132?h=a071b65376" width="740" height="460" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Something I like to explore is using the same field recording to construct a soundscape - as though the sound is mediating on itself. With this piece. I went under an underpass in Neerabup National Park, which backs onto near where I live. Neerabup is an important stretch of bush for two main reasons - firstly, it acts as a wildlife corridor for native wildlife [particularly the many native birds], and secondly it protects part of an ancient Aboriginal migration route [which is now a walking trail called the Yaberoo Budjara Heritage Trail].
When I was arranging this soundscape, I thought about movement, loss and attempting to preserve what was left.
---
''Bering(forboding) (2017)''
<iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/213479932?h=a3bbcd8de1" width="740" height="460" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Field recordings, voice, histogram from photograph. Field material taken at Beringbooding Rock in Western Australia, December 2016.
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''Hidden Landscapes (2016)''
<iframe title="vimeo-player" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/201613787?h=6f2fb98c79" width="740" height="460" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
One of six works created as part of my Silence Awareness Existence residency at Arteles Creative Centre, Finland, November 2016.
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''The Light That Is Waiting (2016)''
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A graphically notated score based on photographs and field recordings of The Pinnacles, Western Australia. Commissioned by the Difficult Music Project, performed by Decibel New Music, Nicole Canham and myself as part of Nicole Canham's Peggy Glanville-Hicks Address in Perth.
---
[[work<-Step back.]] (text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[Audio Work]
<img src="https://samarobryn.work/images/pixelwindow_plants.jpg">
//You enter an airy room filled with beanbags and (link-rerun:"indoor plants")[{
(t8n:"zoom")+(t8n-time:0.4s)(dialog:"A closer look reveals they are mostly spider plants (chlorophytum comosum), but also a Watermelon Peperomia, Elephant Ear (colocasia) and an aloe vera. ","Nice plants")}]. There is a speaker placed in each corner. In the centre of the room is a laptop, offering multiple listening choices.//
Welcome to the listening room, where you can listen to recordings I've released over the years, and also collaborations with friends.
What would you like to listen first?
---
My most recent |A1>[(link-rerun: "solo release...")[(show:?A2)]]|A2)[<a href="https://samarobryn.bandcamp.com/album/waves-2" target="_blank">Waves</a>, on Boorloo/Perth-based label <a href="https://burntseedrecords.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Burnt Seed Records</a> - five tracks exploring the journey of a river into the sea. (link-rerun:"<<")[(hide:?A2)(show:?A1)]]
My |B1>[(link-rerun:"main collection...")[(show:?B2)]]|B2)[<a href="https://samarobryn.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">samarobryn</a> which contains the bulk of my releases. Two of my EPs were also released on <a href="https://dogparkrecords.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Dog Park Records</a>, a fantastic Boorloo/Perth-based experimental label. (link-rerun:"<<")[(hide:?B2)(show:?B1)]]
My |C1>[(link-rerun:"collaborations...")[(show:?C2)]]|C2)[include <a href="https://scientia.bandcamp.com/album/blue-veils-volume-1" target="_blank"> Blue Veils</a> with Boorloo-based artist Scientia, <a href="https://fallenmoonrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/2746" target="_blank">2746</a> with Naarm-based modular+synth artist <a href="https://gravymurphy.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Murphy</a>, and <a href="https://fallenmoonrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/ghost-light" target="_blank">Ghost Light</a> with Naarm-based percussionist and experimental artist <a href="https://www.natgrantmusic.com/" target="_blank">Nat Grant</a>. (link-rerun:"<<")[(hide:?C2)(show:?C1)]]
My |D1>[(link-rerun:"compilation releases...")[(show:?D2)]]|D2)[include <a href="https://freakflag3cr.bandcamp.com/album/let-your-freak-flag-fly-3cr-community-radio-compilation-1om/album/kitchen" target="_blank">Let Your Freak Flag Fly</a> for 3CR Community Radio, <a href="https://dogparkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/kitchen" target="_blank">Ghost Kitchen</a> from dog park records, and Sprouted <a href="https://burntseedrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sprouted-volume-2" target="_blank">Vol 2</a> & <a href="https://burntseedrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sprouted-volume-3" target="_blank">Vol 3</a> via Burnt Seed Records. (link-rerun:"<<")[(hide:?D2)(show:?D1)]]
My select list of |E1>[(link-rerun:"field recordings...")[(show:?E2)]]|E2)[:which are freely available for download via <a href="https://freesound.org/people/samarobryn/" target="_blank">freesounds</a>. (link-rerun:"<<")[(hide:?E2)(show:?E1)]]
|F1>[(link-rerun:"Rock releases...")[(show:?F2)]]|F2)[because aside from experimental music, I also enjoy rocking out on the guitar. I've released two albums with <a href="https://brokengnomes.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Broken Gnomes</a>. I've also played with <a href="https://gregdearmusic.bandcamp.com/track/chattering" target="_blank">Greg Dear & Ship Mates</a>, released two EPs with Potato Stars (<a href="https://potatostars.bandcamp.com/album/baked-ep-2017" target="_blank">Baked</a> and <a href="https://potatostars.bandcamp.com/album/the-bill-ep-2016" target="_blank">The Bill</a>) and was part of a two-piece metal band called <a href="https://inorbitmusic.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">In Orbit</a>. (link-rerun:"<<")[(hide:?F2)(show:?F1)]]
[[work<-Step back.]]
(text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[Photography]
//You enter a dimly-lit room, filled with fixed touch-screens. There is a caption on each screen, inviting you to touch it to reveal the screen's contents. //
Here is a selection of my exhibited photographs. Click each link to view.
---
|A1>[(link-rerun: "Dumbleyung Lakes - 2018 Blink Photography Prize Finalist")[(show:?A2)]]|A2)[<img src="https://samarobryn.work/images/dumbleyung.jpg" width="100%" height="100%">
(link-rerun:"Close photograph.")[(hide:?A2)(show:?A1)]]
|B1>[(link-rerun:"Geometry (Tianjin) - 2015 Lethbridge 10000 Finalist")[(show:?B2)]]|B2)[<img src="https://samarobryn.work/images/geometry_2.jpg" width="100%" height="100%">
(link-rerun:"Close photograph.")[(hide:?B2)(show:?B1)]]
|C1>[(link-rerun:"Abandoned (Vanuatu)- 2014 Lethbridge 10000 Finalist")[(show:?B2)]]|C2)[<img src="https://samarobryn.work/images/abandoned.jpg" width="50%" height="50%">
(link-rerun:"Close photograph.")[(hide:?C2)(show:?C1)]]
|D1>[(link-rerun:"Eiffel Tower (France) - 2012 Macquarie Photography Awards Finalist")[(show:?D2)]]|D2)[<img src="https://samarobryn.work/images/00016957.jpg" width="50%" height="50%">
(link-rerun:"Close photograph.")[(hide:?D2)(show:?D1)]]
|E1>[(link-rerun:"Time - 464 Smart Space (2012")[(show:?E2)]]|E2)[<img src="https://samarobryn.work/images/time.jpg" width="100%" height="100%">
(link-rerun:"Close photograph.")[(hide:?E2)(show:?E1)]]
|F1>[(link-rerun:"Tree in River - Human +/- Nature, Kurb Gallery (2012)")[(show:?F2)]]|F2)[<img src="https://samarobryn.work/images/00016963.jpg" width="50%" height="50%">
(link-rerun:"Close photograph.")[(hide:?F2)(show:?F1)]]
---
[[work<-Step back.]]
//The pair welcome you inside and you find yourself in a living room with a sofa, coffee table and house plants. You take a seat.//
<img src="https://samarobryn.work/images/pixel_livingroom.jpg">
=|=
|A1>[(link-rerun: "Tell me about yourself.")[(show:?A2)]]
=|=
|A2)[Would you like to know more [[about]] me or my [[research]]? Maybe you want to check out my [[work]] or see where I've [[performances and exhibitions<-played or exhibited before?]] Maybe you would you like to [[contact]] me?]
|==|
[[home<-Head back outside.]](text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[Updates Log]
''17/04/24 ''- Added updates log and website rationale. Made some minor changes to the works and performances sections.
''07/4/24'' - Restructured works and living room.
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Head back [[home]].(text-style:"bold","underline","tall")[Rationale]
My website has undergone multiple changes over the years - and even a change in domain name (thanks [redacted former host] for wiping my previous site with no warning or recourse). Initially I wanted to create a blog/portfolio site where I would espouse on topics on the (semi)regular, but I found myself with - not much to say. Then I decided to convert my site to your typical static online business card, with your typical About/CV/Portfolio/Contact sections. Which, while it served its purpose, also felt coldly utilitarian and unenjoyable to maintain.
I'm not a business card, I'm a person.
Which led me to create a sprawling website combining the aesthetics and text-rich content of turn-of-the-century websites, with a text-based navigation system via Twine. My website now //feels// like a digital home, not just yet another sterile artist page.
I will readily admit my website might seem obtuse and windy in its format, but I make no apologies - it is merely reflecting its creator.
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Head back [[home]].