Originally a graphic designer from Brisbane, Emma Sanderson has previously created artwork for bands based in Australia, Glasgow and New York. Now studying Film and Digital Art at Sydney’s CofA, Emma was chosen as one of Dappled Cities favourite visual artists to interpret a track from their album ‘Zounds’. In celebration of the exhibition of visual works from ‘Zounds’ opening tomorrow at the Mart Gallery in Surry Hills, we caught up with Emma to find out a bit more about her installation ‘Fierce Friends’, a 16mm hand-painted short film.

What track from ‘Zounds’ were you asked to interpret and what were your immediate impressions?
I was given ‘Don’t Stop There’ to work with. I instantly thought it would be perfect for a short film, with its steady rhythm and dark disposition. The lyrics sing about jealousy and troubled relations, and the music has a slightly moody and uneasy feeling about it. With these elements combined, I found myself visualising a warped circus. But perhaps one inspired by David Lynch with plodding elephants, dancing bears and ferocious lions.

How did you go about putting the vibes you were getting from the track into a physical installation?
Once I had fleshed out my thoughts a little, I took my camera and paid visits to Taronga Zoo and the Aquarium. Just hung out with the animals for awhile and soaked it all up. It was at the aquarium, where I could simultaneously see my reflection in the glass of a tank and a shark up close that I became interested in the idea of a projecting onto reflective surfaces and dual portraits. There were a few trials and errors, projecting onto mirrors, beds of water and other materials until I finally settled on using black perspex.

It’s been a fair while since you first heard the track now – apart from using a different space for this new exhibit, have you altered your installation in any way? What did you change and why?
Yes, for this show I am reducing the installation to a DVD screened on a television. We have less space to work with this time and I was wanting to develop the film element of the installation some more and make it the focus. I have reworked it into a 16mm hand-painted short film, which features found footage that I have spliced, edited, scratched and painted. There is a loose narrative where vicious animals haunt a protagonist as she searches for truth in a world spiralling out of control.

What do you want your audience to take from the work?
I think jealousy is a really interesting theme to work with. It’s ugly, an emotion everyone has felt but no one wants to own. In a way it’s kind of refreshing to acknowledge it. I think people might relate to that.

Did it force you to use an unusual or different process to your normal art practice?
I guess using a song as a starting point for an installation (and not a cd cover or poster) was unusual for me. I’ve often used songs and sound in my work, but to try and encapsulate a song in an installation was a great challenge.

On a more general level, do you think music has a strong influence on visual art?
Yes definitely, Mart Gallery is testament to that.

Would you be involved in similar projects in future?
Absolutely, music is a big passion and I love making art for bands!

The Dappled Cities Art Exhibition
Opens: Tuesday, June 1
Location: Mart Gallery
156 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills.