STUDIO 12 | RICKY SWALLOW: MULTISTYLUS PROGRAMME
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Studio 12

Ricky Swallow’s Multistylus Programme featured a fully functional replica of a DJ console, handcrafted from plywood and other improvised materials associated with the technologies of the amateur and hobbyist. The combined stylus and ‘amplifier’ were, however, an invention wholly of Swallow’s making – assembled from sewing needles and Styrofoam cups which broadcasted lo-fi techno music from the grooves of vinyl into the gallery and the studio complex beyond. Accompanied by a demonstrational video of multistylus turntable tactics, the work encouraged visitor interaction with Swallow’s ‘homespun quadraphonia’. The Multistylus Program reflected the artist’s interest in electronic music and the tendency towards sampling and mixing contemporary art and mass culture through the hand made remodeling of obsolete analogue technologies.