Aparna Sivaramakrishnan – 21013810’s blog

Job search

After starting to make list it has become quite complicated while trying to segregate the jobs which are apt for my skills I currently have and the ones I need more experience to secure an interview. most of the jobs which were abundant were as a technician, but I am not sure if I have enough qualifications for it.

The next question is, if it’s more important to work in a role I enjoy or to have a job which can be done fro survival but will train me with better skills for future jobs

With these questions in my head, I started to look for more art fellowship, even if it not directly connected to my expertise, along with PhD jobs (very low expectation for me). One of the best fellowship I was able to find was the Cavendish Art Science Fellowship at Girton College. they were looking for artist who doesn’t have much experience in science to experiment in their studio and labs to create a piece. previously they did have musicians and sound artist who have completed the fellowship, which gave me a hope to attempt for it. Due to unfortunate reasons and my portfolio not being completed on time I was not able to apply for it. Hopefully I can apply for it in the upcoming years, when I have a stronger practice.

Some other options included Japan Binnale, where a part of the topic was to involve the streets in the artwork. Due to the same trouble as I had with Cavendish fellowship I was not able to apply.

After extended search I was able to find MTM internship and VARI Fellowship which I will be applying for in June after completing all my submission with a good portfolio to support my ideas.

Though I have managed to find opportunities where artists from all fields are invited, most of them are for highly qualified or experienced artists, therefore it won’t be easy to secure them. Some of the most interesting fellowships, need a PhD or to be a PhD candidate, therefore its not possible at the moment.

Most of the places I am searching for in limited to London but in case of not being able to secure a job in few months I will have to move away or look for other options where I will have to get a temporary job until I can land an opportunity close to my practice. While searching for a fellowship, I will mention a part time Jon, untill many more fellowships opens application in November.

Website Development

To start developing my portfolio website I went through most of the developer providers like Wix, WordPress, Google website, Adobe Portfolio and many more. Later I did start working with a basic template from Adobe portfolio because of the simplicity of their interface. At a later stage I switched from them, due to lack of flexibility with their font for each template.

After a bit more search I found Cargo Collective, they have different theme and style for their websites. Most places look for maximum scrolls and number of page to increase the users interaction but they try to increase the interaction with the minimum number of pages. I chose my template which has multiple pages but for used it feels like they are still on the same page, due to column layout. It works best for me because of the aesthetics and concept which relates to my ideology of simplicity and preciseness of my works.

It did take a minute to figure out the User Interface of the developer, once I got the hang of it, it was quick. I still feel it is good I deal to try build your own website, when you have your own time.

Business Lecture with Steve Taylor

The lecture conducted by Steve Tylor was an investment to know more about the tax system in UK. As an international student, many terms which are heard on day to day basis are still foreign due to the lack of explanation. Most of the concepts explained were the basics for any business but difference in the rules/ law based on the country does effect the understanding of the discussion. An example being VAT and GST is the same method of taxing and finding methods to get the return after registering with them. Previously, I used to believe they were different and I didn’t know anything about them but after the short discussion with Steve, it made me confident to know I do have basic knowledge to survive the tax system over her, though its extremely complicated, but something that I can lean in the upcoming years when I start to work.

Another important difference I recognised was the benefits of small business and start up where. in the coming couple of years it might not be possible to start a business but did get m,e informed about the possibilities in the future. After all the conversation, a point which still confuses me is the business as an international student or a visa holder. I wish there were more discussions regarding business as a visa holder or the restrictions and access as a self employed graduate visa holder.

Artist Bio & Discussions

As part of the Portfolio unit workshop, to improve our artist bio, and one of the exercise was to compare different artist bios to recognise similarities. one of the key similarity found was that many of them had three sections:

general intro and what you do
what have been done so far
recent achievements or projects and theme

with this I started dividing my bio since I just had one section in it with provides brief idea of who I am.

The one which I used to use doesn’t introduce me well, other than some of my charactertsics which are transferable. After the workshop I started to point own the details I would like my audience to know. Especially when the pieces are multi sensory, it will be well understood if they have a brief idea about my inter disciplinary works. After multiple iteration I was able to write a perfect bio about me with a bit help in editing them, as final touches.:

Aparna Siv is a London based Indian multidisciplinary artist and researcher who has been recently working in the field of sound. Her works are made in connection with acoustics of various forms of water sources from multiple regions by observing their differences in support of conservation of the nature, which is developed into multisensory installations were textures and movement of the installations are interrelated with the main concept of the work and stereo works.

Her works ranges from installations, live performances and improvisation at various locations including Gallery 46 and multiple UAL locations. Previously, she has gained experience in User Experience research and design, as well as theatre design which has developed her skills to adapt and enquire in depth leading to her research works on various topics in relation to Art-Science.

She has gained experience in sound design by completing BA (Hons) Sound Arts in 2025 from University of the Arts London. The necessary skills were achieved by developing compositions using field recordings and performative pieces at different venues and were transferred into her research regarding the effect of sound sources on a human and its importance.

In class discussions:

As a beginner in searcher of vacancies it feels overwhelming, especially when we start searching for them as a group with all of us with various skill set, but it does help when we discuss a field one of have found and another person is interested in it.

Audience response towards my practice:

something I have noticed is that many people try to connect with my work because it always contains elements of nature, and most of us are all attached to at least one of them. Since, few of my work had sea shore as part of it, I did get a good response towards them, when they started to feel connected to it. Later when I narrate the storyline or the concept it is based on, it becomes something many remembers, though they might might not be from the same background as me or anyone at uni.

On the other hand, many does consider it common and overused when a certain track/ commonly used object stands out, though it might have a deeper meaning. Even with the mixed review about few of my works, I have notices my audience recollecting my concept at a later time, which I feel is a personal achievement.

What is my practice

Most of what I do is in relation to nature of social life. I have noticed a pattern in my work, if its not a research about art and biology, there is always a story to tell. I started noticing it from the time I was studying UX design and later during the years in theatre design it got amplified because all my work had a story or I made sure there was a narrative involved in all my structures.

At times, there were my own involvement in the story while designing the theatre for a play. I might intervene the story a bit by changing the placements of the characters and their movement. It didn’t affect anyone, since it was a proposal, but later on when I joined Sound Arts, my perspective changed to learning basic skills to survive in the skills.

in the process I started learning different methods and process for both DAWs and no input mixing. No input mixing became a huge part of my practice in my second year and I still use sample I made then and I still like to spend time working on it when possible. this gave me introduction to performing improve. After completing the improve, I wanted to collaborate for further performances and would love to continue in the future. Even, for our performance, I tried bringing a story into it as a part of context for the performance. We decided on the poem “The Darkling Thrush”by Robert Frost.

Simultaneously I started researching about underwater sea life and from there I started connecting it to sound and the evolution of hydrophone and its use in art though it was originally made to monitor submarines over the period of war, later to recognise the calls of whales. These facts and reading materials were the break through for my curiosity to start my research in the field of art especially sound and connecting it to science. Previously I have done research as part of UX design, but they are different in comparison to the content and the methods implemented to find results. these different experiences made my research more chaotic as well as more resourceful in finding details and connection points which might be generally cosidered hidden due to lack of direct information about these topics.

I have started to edit my cv and I have been working on the right phrases to be used for my interests and skills

In the images from A to C it is evident my skills and interest has evolved while maintaining my core strengths along the way.

I have selected them according to the ideas we were sharing during our Professional future sessions and while discussing with my course coursemates about the possible ways to make a good cv.

Similarly I have to start working on my artist bio/ statement. The one I have doesn’t include information about my interest in research or being an artist, it’s mostly about being a designer which will leave me with a smaller pool of opportunities.

Interests

Since I started working with nature and sound I have been fascinated by artists such as Jana Winderon, Tom Fisher who have excelled and created their own mark in feel recording. The raw recording of River Thames by Fisher is exceptionally clear though they are not processed. I have been trying to bring as much clarity to my own recording since I am trying to observe the surrounding. He did mention about working with one meter deep recording to attain the clarity and detail.

They have been inspirations for many of my work when I initially started field recording.

methods to build network:

build a usable website
try to do more residencies
trying to find inspiring artist and then looking at their connections to find suitable hiring/ collaborating opportunity
making a list of 100 people and institutes I would like to wrk with and emailing them (suggested by graduate mentor)

I have started trying to make the list but haven’t started emailing them since the portfolio is not completely ready so far.

While trying to compile all the works for portfolio, Im thinking of including work from all the fields of work I have done so far. this was a suggestion made by my mentor, since he believes it is crucial as a budding artist to showcase all my skills for broader range of jobs. but this will make it harder to attain a job where I have to have specialism and extended knowledge. The only option will be continue with a traditional route of an artiest for the time being where I will get more exposure and to work with science in background to get more proficient in it. Hopefully attending short courses relayed to science for more formal education might be helpful in the future where my audience will feel much more reasonable.

Internship:

during my last internship with a sound director Arun Rama Varma in Kerala and his team to learn more about foley for a movie, I came to recognise the lack of passion and dedication for the work by most, especially the foley artist. It did dishearten me, but I do hope it’s not the case with everyone. Still, I was able to learn a lot of techniques during my one month there including the positioning of microphone for better clarity and to manipulate the room according to the scenario.

CV and Career

Between the thought about all the possible opportunity I can apply for and what am I good in which I can convert into a career, is huge self doubting pothole which have absorbed me completely into its depth. Right now I have a CV which need to be updated with my recent achievements and experiences.

The CV shown above need to be updated with the recent Corsica curation, and last summer internship. Along with that, I might have to make the layouts a bit more compact but seems like a have a bit more experience, especially transferable traits, through a to the point description.

Another part I will have to change is my interests, because during my final year project it has come to notice about my interest in continuing with animation has decreased slightly but I would like to keep it as one of the opting while searching for job opportunities.

From my recent experiences I have understood my strength in organising and management but it hasn’t been enough to be considered as a career option. Currently, I am good with researches regarding art and their connection to science in my own capacity. I have been trying to gain more insight into the field of neuroscience since sound is directly connected to neurone and it will be the base for me to continue my study on the topic of connection between music and evolution in human being. Last year I was able to start the exploration in this topic but I was not able to dig deep enough to attain a strong result due to the restriction of the time period for the project. I would like to continue working on it as well as my ongoing observation and collection of various underwater sound tracks from different parts of there work, which is later used to observe the difference. Though I haven’t started recognising the sound of different animals when I listen to the works of other renowned artists and researchers, I would like to gain much more experience in this field in the coming years.

Most of the job I was searching for need an extensive years of experience in that field of work or I have missed traineeship application date. With these I do have doubts about missing job options I could apply for. Though, some of them do ask for years of experience I might apply for them hoping of a good interview in case of me getting selected

Final Product

For Element one I have done a demo audio of the Kitchen along with the audio played at all time, consisting of a mix of underwater samples.

the Kitchen Demo

Underwater audio mix

What’s Next:

In the next stage, the structure will be combined together along with the rest of the installation. As part of completing the kitchen, the window and a chandelier will be added to include the element of interaction by lowering. since the person towers above each part of the installation, it will trigger lights and sound for the specific area.

Miniature Production

the process started with referring to the pictures I have kept as a reference for this section of project, as shown below:

_{Mood board}

These pictures were acquired from Pinterest as part of my mood board for the installation of the kitchen. I wanted the theme to be delicate and open therefore planned to make gigantic windows a main component of the design.

After going through various collections of pictures I made a rough sketch of the ideal kitchen scene for my project. I kept the window as a main component because I want the whole structure including all four of the scenes to be without boundary. The best solution was to make windows a main component so I can skip the issue of walls or veiling being a block for the view. through all of them will be kept at lower than eye level I wanted audience to have a complete vision of the structures and forth to feel its all a part of the life. This idea contributes to incorporating the concept of life cycle into the project without an arrow showing its one after another.

The cycle may not have arrow to navigate the cycle but it does have a road or a path around a lake according to the scene.

_{The rough sketch of final product}

The ground plan was made using the scale of 1:25 and they are done while considering if they are blown up to the scale of 1:1 it will be true to size and will be comfortable to be considered as a a regular kitchen. The sizing might slightly vary depending on the material and how the hinges work with he design of the material.

The measurements for the washing area, cooking range the refrigerator were left according to a general measurement, enough to accommodate in the design.

_{Ground plan in 1:25 scale}

For trying to find the components for the kitchen I started with understanding how will the house feel like or what kind equipment would that family probably prefer to purchase according to the mood board. This lead me to further researching my options and did take opinions from my father who has expertise in the field of construction and decorating houses according his clients preferences.

I wanted to include many more interesting detailing such as toasters and a Mixing machine to give more liveliness to the scene

After measuring and calculating the precise measuring of the main elements (refrigerator, cupboard, the island table and the walls) in the kitchen on a white card, all of them were cut out using a 10A surgical knife.

Right now after completing the painting and texturing of all the elements, it doesn’t look empty but it miss the liveliness it needs for it to seem like an active kitchen where people are living their daily life, rather than a showcase kitchen.

I started the structural making with the base board then continued with the island table and the bar stool since they are the most detailed structures in the whole kitchen. All the measurements were drawn beforehand to make the process easier.

Measurements for the island table and bar chair

As mentioned before, most of the structures are made using white card , which are supported using toothpicks, thin wooden dowel, different threads etc. Once they are glued together a layer of gesso is applied to make the structure sturdy, later it is textured using putty od painted accordingly.

Ceramic and plastic structure using Milliput clay

After completing the table, I started with the appliance by collecting the information for each model. For the refrigerator, rather than using paint a thin steel sheet was was used to give authenticity,

Due to time constrain, I had to skip the French window as well as the oven, but they will be completed for the main installation.

Later all of them were assembled together to form the final structure. While assembling, the hardest part was to make the bar stool be intact. due to slight error, it lost its balance and was not able to handle the weight of the dried clay. Later I glued them to the base card and it successfully stayed intact.

Mixing

Mixing started right after firing out the concept in beginning of January 2025. The process began with understanding the number of characters and what are they doing. It consists of two parents and a baby. I wanted to give a happier baby for this scene because babies are always seen as a crying mess or with an unrealistic expectation of babies who never cries. If possible I would like to experiment with baby crying to happy.

I started by compiling the files I have already collected and few from Soundly. the process started but soon it showed the license of the iLok I got from uni had expired, leaving me with little time to do anything. This made me panic and astray from my work and I was able to create a basic structure using tracks from Soundly and free sound. The structure is based on the story line of a parent’s and a toddlers breakfast routine.

Initial stages:

As part of trying to figuring out the possible ways to rectify the situation, I did try to contact all possible person related to getting the contract renewed but was out of their hands since there was no possibility of renewing the contract in the limited time. These series of unfortunate events took place in the last minute therefore my next best idea was to bounce the maximum number of tracks and to use them again while adding more detailing with reduced number of treatment.

fortunately, later I was able to book studio for few hours where I was able to mix additional tracks and was able to work with better precision for the timings such as the closing of the door. These tiny detailings with better panning

Since I was able to book the studio, I was able to adjust the EQ better to give the feeling of distance. Though reverb is the most used to give the spacial feeling I fest they were best used when there was an object movement. Also, find the track such as room tone was a game changer for me because, previously due to my lack of experience in finding the right library, I used to record various rooms from different locations for my project which are later mixed together asa base layer.

the trouble I experienced while panning was when I started to get confused with the storyline, especially when I was trying to improvise the on my feet. this was easily solved when I whole down each sound which might be apt for the parent one and parent who, including the pressure of closing doors.

Currently these mixes are in a demo stage therefore, most of the tracks are from library other than the once I have collected beforehand. few of the inspirations I used were the pattern and movement of the subject in the India movie, English Vinglish intro scene. Another one was from, the cracking of the egg from Ratatouille and few other movies which specifically made cracking an egg interesting. Similarly I would like to experiment a bit more further with the cooking sounds for the next part.

For the base layer consisting of the underwater sounds which will be common for the whole installation, are all sourced by myself and will be further edited in the next stage of the project.

Recording and Sourcing

Haven’t been able to much of recording other than few regarding birds and sea shore. Though I am not sure how to use the sea shore recording I got from Beachy Head, Brighton, It has turned out well. I did use the method of multiple direction and distances from the waves to get a good wholesome mix later while I am mixing them together.

I read in a book (can’t remember which one) that I should record them at different altitude to give it better specialising. I tried this method by recording them from the stair and on the ground level on the beach. This was later mixed, some of them turned out well but had to delete few of them due to the sound of wind.

(picture of me recording)

For rest of the rest of the samples of cooking were made of which some of them can be used according to the story line I come up with. Most of the sounds recorded were of chopping by using a wooden cutting board and a cucumber with a knife. I did try the sound of frying an egg but did not have as much clarity as thought it might. better option would be to prepare bacons on a pan to get much more louder crackling of the boiling oil. If its not possible I might resort to the track I found on Soundly.

Storyline:

Towards the end the storyline I though with was perfect to showcase the movement of sound in a room is through a pair of parents who enter the kitchen at different times and the toddler/ baby along with one of them. Soon after the entrance of the first parent they start cooking which is represented by movement of pans and utensils which are apt for a breakfast chaos.

This chaos included sounds of a laptop to show the working life of the parents. the base layer to create the atmosphere for a cozy morning, can be done with adding wind chimes chiming and birds chirping in the distance.

Not sure how to bring a windy morning into the space but would like to try wind hitting the window or the tree branches brushing on the window. these movements can be an each scenario, as an example trees can be a violent element if the scene is raining (camping). This can be useful to showcase my skills in making the same sound different in different scenarios.