Lawrence English is media artist, composer and curator based in Australia. Working
across an eclectic array of aesthetic investigations, English’s work prompts questions of
field, perception and memory. He utilises a variety of mediums including live
performance, audio/visual environments, found sound/vision to create his work that
typifies his interests in creating experiences that create subtle transformation of space
and ask audiences to become aware of that which exists at the edge of perception. 
 
For over a decade, English’s audio investigations have traversed a divergent path
where musical and environmental sources are granted equal focus. His work calls into
question the established relationships of sound and structure – field recordings and
musical materials work in unison, acting as suggestive devices. Rather than prescriptive,
English’s sound work call for the listener to construct their own narratives and impressions
based on their personal histories and experiences. Published widely on respected
imprints including Touch, 12K and Winds Measure, English’s work is sculpted and
overwhelmingly intricate. The Wire noted his ‘use of space and silence is remarkable’,
and U.S. sound journal Signal To Noise described the Ghost Towns work as
‘extraordinarily gorgeous modern music concréte’.
 
As a producer English has completed numerous projects with artists including Tujiko
Noriko (U, Blurred In My Mirror), Ben Frost (Theory Of Machines), Tenniscoats (Totemo
Aimasho, Temporacha) and The Rational Academy (Swans). He has also completed
commissioned compositions for acclaimed avant-circus troupe Circa, various theatre
ensembles and has worked as a sound designer in collaboration with artists including
Australian visualist Craig Walsh.
 
English’s installation and gallery practice is concerned predominately with challenging
the understandings and expectations of site specificity, sound and media. His 2008 ‘Trio
For Objects’ exhibition presented three discrete sound installations (kinetic, prepared’
and sculptural) which when experienced in unison created a ‘related sound field’. By
contrast, the 3-screen video installation Ghost Towns, seeks to create an abstract ‘virtual
map’ of remote Australian spaces. In 2006 English produced a series of sound art works
specifically for the deaf and hearing impaired under the title ‘Silence Listening’. These
works were amongst the first of their kind in the world, exploring and examining the
notions of isolation and sonic interaction within these oft-marginalized communities.
 
Outside of his recording and art commissions, Lawrence English curates a number of
ongoing sound and media programs including Mono at the Institute Of Modern Art and
Syncretism at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts. He produces the annual
Room40 festival Open Frame (in Australia and London) and co-produces a number of
other festivals including Sound Polaroids, Liquid Architecture and Frankly!. He continues
to curate numerous conceptually driven art projects including Melatonin – Meditations
On Sound In Sleep (for Next Wave Festival), Airport Symphony (for the Queensland Music
Festival), Small Scores (for Valley Fiesta) and Audible Geography (for University Of
Tasmania). He has presented on radio as part of Triple J’s Soundlab program and he
continues to produce an extensive range of radio documents and sound works for
programs such as the BBC’s World Service. His critical writings can be found in journals
such as The Wire, Signal To Noise, Paris Transatlantic, Cyclic Defrost, and numerous
online outlets. 
 
English’s imprint and multi-arts organisation ::ROOM40:: (www.room40.org) maintains a
steady release schedule from an eclectic array of Australian and international artists.