Lise Autogena (born 1964) is a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

artist living in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. At the age of 17, she left home to live in Denmark's experimental community Christiania, an experience which she has said was very important in her development. Autogena is best known for the ''Sound Mirrors'' projec

Inspired by the derelict

acoustic mirror An acoustic mirror is a passive device used to reflect and focus (concentrate) sound waves. Parabolic acoustic mirrors are widely used in parabolic microphones to pick up sound from great distances, employed in surveillance and reporting of ...

s at the former

RAF Denge Denge is a former Royal Air Force site near Dungeness, in Kent, England. It is best known for the early experimental acoustic mirrors which remain there. The acoustic mirrors, known colloquially as 'listening ears', at Denge are located bet ...

in England, it aims to create two new

sound mirrors An acoustic mirror is a passive device used to reflect and focus (concentrate) sound waves. Parabolic reflector, Parabolic acoustic mirrors are widely used in parabolic microphones to pick up sound from great distances, employed in surveillanc ...

on the coast of England and France which will enable people on either side of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kan ...

to speak to each other. Her work tends to feature very lengthy and complex development, involving forming diverse communities of artists, business people, scientists, and children, who come together to work on each project. She says: :“''From the outset, I am often not sure whether it will be possible to realise my rather Utopian projects. I nevertheless commit years of research and development. Risk is an important part of my work, and the long term potential of my projects is important to me.''” In 2001,

Black Shoals {{no footnotes, date=March 2013 Black Shoals is an artificial ecosystem linked to the real time dynamics of the stock market. It was first shown at the Tate Gallery in 2001, and nominated for an Alternative Turner Prize in 2002. A more sophisticat ...

, in collaboration with

Joshua Portway Joshua Portway (born 1967) is an artist and game designer. He is a frequent collaborator with Lise Autogena, for example on their Black Shoals stock market. He is also the author of thNoodle series of interactive music pieces, which was originall ...

, was shown at the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

, London. In 2004 she was recipient to a prestigious three-year National Endowment of Science, Technology and the Arts (

NESTA Nesta (formerly NESTA, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is an innovation foundation based in the UK. The organisation acts through a combination of programmes, investment, policy and research, and the formation of part ...

) fellowship, aiding development of her work. In 2013, again in collaboration with

, Autogena created

Foghorn Requiem A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. Wh ...

, a performance involving a

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as publish ...

foghorn, 55 ships at sea and brass bands on land. Scored by

Orlando Gough Orlando Gough ( ; born 1953 in Brighton, Sussex) is a British composer, educated at Oxford, and noted for projects written for ballet, contemporary dance and theatre. Collaborators have included Siobhan Davies, Alain Platel, Shobana Jeyasingh a ...

, it was said to be the first musical score created for foghorns. Performed to an audience of 8000, the piece was recognized by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for having the "most ship horns in a piece of music".

References

NESTA biography

External links

Artist's websiteBlack Shoals ProjectSound Mirrors ProjectFoghorn Requiem website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Autogena, Lise 1964 births Living people 20th-century Danish women artists 20th-century Danish artists 21st-century Danish women artists Danish conceptual artists Women conceptual artists