Who is Alex White?
I’m an artist, curator and producer. I work in community media and am currently co-directing Tele Visions – a good bye to analog TV. We’re setting up a temporary TV studio and broadcasting a pop up analog and web stream TV channel over 5 days showing art specifically devised for the TV medium.
What would you do differently to what you do now?
Read more, watch less TV, sleep more, do more gardening, own sunglasses, not forget how to swim freestyle, remember to turn the oven off.
Who inspires you and why?
Makers – I delve into various building and creation aspects of electronic arts but how amazing would it be to be a software programmer or electrical engineer?! So often I only have time to learn the bare minimum in order to implement what I need to do.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
Create a free brain chip that holds all of Wikipedia.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
Denham’s Beach, NSW South Coast. Its quiet, pretty and usually has some grandparents in attendance to assist with child raising. I usually manage to somehow squish my modular synths in the back of the car and steal a few moments.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take then to, and why?
Probably the aquatic playground at Darling Harbour – I can’t imagine a more awesome job than designing playgrounds.
What are you currently reading?
Synthetics by Stephen Jones. Gives an amazing insight into Australia’s recent electronic and media art histories and in particular video synthesis of which I am obsessed.
What are you currently listening to?
Four Door – Sydney techno outfit. Sits somewhere in that awesome space between self aware irony and deadly seriousness. They very generously let Tele Visions use their track for a promo video.
Happiness is?
Sleep. New pants.
What does the future hold for you?
More working with artists I love, more making music possibly including a regression to techno, more research, longer development, less spreadsheets.
Alex White has organised art and sound events including as a co-director of Serial Space where he invigorated the ARI with the presentation of over 100 events in 2009/2010 establishing the identity and focus of Serial Space as a development and presentation space for experimental hybrid art forms.
Alex was a co-director of Electrofringe Festival in 2007 and 2008 where he brought a focus to community based experimental art forms, analog video synthesis art, dance utilising computer vision and established a program of residencies and new work development in the festival.
Alex is a co-organiser of Moduluxxx – Modular Synthesis Festival with Pia van Gelder, a festival that celebrates modular synthesisers, the festival debuted in 2012.
Alex has also organised and curated a range of sound and music events including the High Reflections series with Caleb Kelly in 2009, 2010 and 2011, Liquid Architecture Sydney in 2008, and various one off events including Super Deluxe for the Sydney Biennale in 2010.
Alex is the founder of and project consultant for the Lion Mountain Studio project, a community based music initiative that works with people from a refugee background assisting them to create their own music. The project has been highly successful with the album Sounds of the Lion released in 2012 achieving album of the week on FBi Radio in Sydney and much airplay on JJJ and various community radio stations. Music from the project has recently been used in a major advertising campaign enabling the project to achieve a level of independent non grant based financial security.
Alex also creates his own work in the form of sound performances, video art and gallery based AV installations. He currently works for the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia as Operations Coordinator on the Digital Radio Project.
Tele Visions is presented as part of You’re History! an electrifying 12-day season of all Australian-made performances celebrating 30 years of Performance Space and runs from 27 November – 1 December 2013. For more information, visit: www.performancespace.com.au for details.
Image: Alex White