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| Jacqui O'Reilly, Selfie in the Gunyah studio, 2013, photograph |
In the morning when I wake up and listen to the sound of the birds outside on the roof, I try to ignore what the paper says and I try not to read all the news.
(Neil Young, It’s a dream)
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| Jacqui O'Reilly, Gunyah studio, 2013, photograph |
My time in residence at Gunyah is summed up
by these Neil Young lyrics. I slept in the loft in the wonderfully crafted
wooden pole house that is Gunyah and listened to the gentle and slow sounds of North
Arm Cove resonate throughout every morning and night. On one occasion I went to
sleep to the sound of a big electrical storm above me and the open fire in the
lounge below me. It was a sonic dream and a welcomed break from the information
overload of Sydney that I am so accustomed to.
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| Jacqui O'Reilly, Sunset North Arm Cove, 2013, photograph |
I used this space to experiment with the
sound of my own voice, and set up a studio looking out onto bush and water.
Here, surrounded by the acoustics of my work reverberating in the interior of
the house, I recorded, sampled and synthesized my compositions in preparation
of a self-released EP of ambient music using voice exclusively. It was a
perfect environment to experiment in and focus on stillness and sound and
creative expression.
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| Jacqui O'Reilly, Gunyah fire in the storm, 2013, photograph |
I also submerged myself in the local region
and was very spoilt to encounter a range of wildlife including a whale at Hawk’s
Nest beach for a whole morning, dolphins in the cove, wallabies, hawks,
pelicans and geckos. All this life energised me as did the coastline and the
cove itself and I hope at least some of this energy may be heard in the work I
achieved while at Gunyah.
Jacqui O’Reilly
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| Jacqui O'Reilly, Hawks Nest beach, 2013, photograph |
Recording: Distance (work in progress), Jacqui O’Reilly, Gunyah, North Arm Cove
https://soundcloud.com/gunyah-resident-artists/distance-by-jacqui-oreilly
