The Forge Residency is an interdisciplinary sound-sculpture project between blacksmith Conrad Hicks and sound artist Matlali Matabane. Conceptualized during Roger Vy Wyk's Strategy Arts Residency, the collaboration reads as an experimental call and response practice - playing the room. Matlali's practice of electronic instrumentation and extended play merges with Conrad's sculptural work in a dive into the subconscious of creativity.
The residency manifests in three shows: Of Water, Earth, Fire, and Air
These three iterations present an immersive sound installation derived from the acoustic properties of the Bijou's Forge. The installation welcomes a participatory setting, inviting the audience to co-explore the possibilities of industrial and electronic devices. A thread of conscious compositions runs throughout the residency as invocations to sculpture and vice versa.