Rose James: through a cloud of smoke and dust

Rose James is a Christchurch born, sonic artist, now residing in Dunedin. Her large-scale sound and steel installations have been exhibited both nationally and internationally.

James’s practice examines the sonic ecology of architecture, using sound to explore the material and structural system of disused and abandoned buildings. She captures these buildings in states of limbo between total abandonment and rebuilding, where the interaction of occupants no longer sonically activate the interior spaces or vibrate the structures. James’s presentation at CoCA is an exploration of the sonic poetics of the disassembling and implosion of the Christchurch Police building in Hereford St. The sounds are reactivated in the gallery space across huge planes of steel. The surface becomes the medium through which the sound amplifies as it resonates in sympathy, graunches and thrills to the vibrations of the building’s destruction.

through a cloud of smoke and dust signals the launch of a suite of exhibitions collectively known as CRUX Te Punga and organised by Trent Hiles. A number of local artists have made work in response to the demolition of Otautahi Christchurch’s earthquake-damaged Central Police building.