Duet for a Duo (Solar Symphony 7) (2015)

Haroon Mirza is internationally acclaimed for his installations, sculptures and performances. His art uses audio interference to question predetermined concepts of noise and music by exploring relationships between sound, light and electricity. He manipulates electricity through inanimate objects to orchestrate an interplay between sound and vision, describing himself as a kinetic composer. Regular objects such as electrical goods, vinyl and turntables, LEDs, furniture and video footage are used for a different purpose forcing one to reconsider both their form and function. Synthesised by Mirza’s modifications, the space in which a work resides transitions into an atmospherically charged arena, at once both harmonious and divergent.

Duet for a Duo (Solar Symphony 7) is an interactive sound and light sculpture and part of Mirza’s solar-powered, multi-sensory Solar Symphony series. Electronic audio compositions are generated through rockformation speakers while a band of lightemitting diodes change brightness according to the strength of the sunlight as it tracks across the photovoltaic panels. The noise and light both have a direct relationship to the intensity of the sun, increasing or decreasing as more or less light is absorbed.

In 2010 Haroon Mirza’s work featured in ‘Art Sheffield 2010 – Life: A User’s Manual’, held at the Millennium Gallery. Living in and working in Sheffield at the time, Mirza was a key member of the Sheffield art scene and in 2011, Museums Sheffield nominated him for the Northern Art Prize, which he subsequently won. His piece Duet for a Duo (Solar Symphony 7) is a valuable addition to Sheffield’s collection of contemporary artworks, joining that of other internationally renowned artists such as Grayson Perry, Sutapa Biswas and Kateˇrina Šedá.

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