Mo Zareei. Juried Artist
Double Vision
Brisbane Powerhouse
Artist Statement
Brutalist Noise Ensemble v2 presents a visceral audiovisual experience to emphasise the materiality of sound and sound-production. The work is an experimental audiovisual performance developed around the interaction of light and sound, digital and physical, human and machine. Evolving from my practice-based PhD research into sound-based brutalism, the project builds on an ongoing exploration of principles of brutalist architecture through audiovisual media. It involves a series of electromechanical instruments built to extend the territory of noise and glitch beyond the digital realm, while paying conscious homage to Brutalism: an unapologetic celebration of raw material through rigorous formalism, where noise replaces concrete.
Through their functional and austere design, the instruments expose the materiality of their components: unadorned sheets of metal, enclosed in simple wooden structures, and activated by a series of electromechanical pulses. The instrument’s austere aesthetics is highlighted through bursts of light that intensify the sensory experience of the work. Despite its experimental raw materials, the formal structure of the work is established through purely grid-based and club-style rhythms and repetition is used to bring accessibility to noise. During the piece, synthetic elements that are derived from live processing of the instruments’ physical vibrations glue together the acoustic and digital material. Tactile interaction with the sculptures culminates the visceral quality of the work and the materiality of the instruments and their sound.
About the artists
Mo H. Zareei aka mHz is an Iranian electronic musician, sound artist, and researcher based in New Zealand. Using custom-built software and hardware, Zareei’s artistic practice covers a wide range from electronic compositions to kinetic sound-sculptures and audiovisual installations. Regardless of the medium, Zareei’s work aims to highlight the beauty in the basics of sound and light production, and reductionist audiovisual elements that draw inspiration from physical and architectural principles.
He has exhibited his work at international events and festivals such as Ωhm festival (Brisbane), the International Symposium on Electronic Art (Montreal, Vancouver, & Dubai), New Interfaces for Musical Expression Conference (Auckland, London), Modern Body Festival (The Hague), SETxCTM Festival (Tehran), and New Zealand Festival (Wellington), to name a few.
Zareei is a featured artist on Streaming Museum and his work has been published through Creative Applications, Design Boom, VICE, and Fast Company. His work “Rasping Music” was the recipient of the 1st Prize for Sound Art at the Sonic Arts Award 2015 (IT), and his installation Material Sequencer was shortlisted for the Aesthetica Art Prize 2024 (UK). Publishing his electronic music projects under the moniker mHz, Zareei’s albums have been released via LINE (US), Important Records (US), leerraum (CH), and Kasuga Records (DE).
He holds a BSc in Physics from Shahid Beheshti University of Tehran, a BFA in Music Technology from California Institute of the Arts, and a PhD in Sonic Arts from Victoria University of Wellington, where he is a Senior Lecturer in Composition/Sonic Arts.
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