Clinton
Watkins has worked for over 20
years across a number of fields and genres, from audio-visual installation to experimental music.
Building
on his interest in scale and fidelity, Clinton’s projects frequently employ repetition,
distortion, and duration as
a means to explore the
characteristics of processing of sonic and visual
stimuli. His works are notable for their visceral and precise
presentation of scales and phenomena beyond the human
by way of video projection,
television monitors and screens, and custom-made audio and video
hardware. At the centre of much of Clinton’s minimalistic and materially-oriented pieces lies the
impulse to investigate the affect that
combinations of sonic and visual
information have on audiences. Frequently his works also feature stark translations of visual
content into the sonic realm (and vice
versa),
but, regardless of their visual or sonic foundations, are recognisable for Clinton’s determined commitment to intensity of
experience and persistent focus on experimental and formal exploration.
Clinton’s works for gallery spaces have been presented by institutions throughout Aotearoa – New Zealand, Australia, Europe, Asia and the United
States, and his recorded work has been released on a number of
prominent experimental and electronic music imprints. This includes projects for Circle, INDEX:Records, 20City, CLaudia, Mystery Sea, CMR, Absurd, Scarcelight, Bass Agenda, and Unfathomless, among others. In 2018 Clinton traveled to the
Mmabolela
Reserve on the border of Botswana and South Africa to
participate in the Sonic
Mmabolela Sound Composers Residency directed by Spanish artist, Francisco Lopez.
Recently,
Clinton has been working as part of the Chinese/New Zealand artist
collective, Field Recordings, notably
on two projects about the people who live and work on the Yangtze
Delta near Shanghai.
Clinton
holds a Doctorate in Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts
(University of Auckland) a Senior Lecturer in Creative Technologies specializing in Sound and Installation at the School of Future Environments, AUT.
