Ian Andrews, born 1961 (Australia) is a Sydney based independent film, video and sound artist who has been practicing since 1981. Beginning with experimental audio collage, Andrews gradually moved into the production of film and video, and film and video soundtracks, and then to electronic music, digital animation and interactive net art.
Much of Andrews’ work consists of video/sound collage, “cut-up,” and agit-prop culture jamming utilising a diverse range of visual styles – from animation to “found” footage. The work is often characterised by themes such as technology and subjectivity.
In the early 80s he produced a number of 16mm “cut-up” films which were shown in conjunction with live audio performances, During this time he also created experimental radio work and audio cassettes, and collaborated with international artists on various experimental sound projects. He studied electronics and computer studies at TAFE from 1983 to 1986 in order to achieve the knowledge and skills to build his own electronic instruments and video equipment. This was supplemented with a traineeship in the broadcast television industry. In1988 he began working at Metro Television (Metro Screen). He studied film at the University of Technology Sydney from which he graduated with first class honours in 1994. During this period he made a number of films and videos, and wrote several essays on sound which were published in periodicals such as NMA and Essays in Sound. In the early nineties he formed a video (VJ –visuals) group with long term colleges John Jacobs and Marco Fante. The group – Subvertigo performed using a diverse collection of video equipment including cameras, video mixers, VCRs, effects devices, computers, oscilloscopes and specialised home built equipment. Subvertigo performed from 1992 till 1997 during which they did over fifty performances at techno dance parties and other events.
Andrews has also produced electronic dance music of which much can be heard on CDs and records released in Australia and overseas. Over the last couple of years he has returned his focus to the production of experimental music and video. His latest work consists of a series of sound interactives (and aleatory and permutative works) for delivery over the net. Using Macromedia Flash with action script he has developed techniques to deliver interesting and reasonably high fidelity sound using minimal bandwidth and small file sizes.
Recently he has collaborated with Garry Bradbury (Size) on the Sanity Clause project, and created visual work for The Loop Orchestra.
Andrews has exhibited his works in various international film and video festivals including festivals in Edinburgh, Rotterdam, Hong Kong, Naples, Catania, Amsterdam, Berlin and Wellington, in addition to numerous events throughout Australia. He has spoken about and presented his work at various conferences, both nationally and internationally. In June 2001 he presented a retrospective of his work, from 1983 to 2000, as part of the Sydney Film Festival.
In 2004 he exhibited work at Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne, the FILE festival in Sao Paulo, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki (as part of ISEA2004).
Ian Andrews currently teaches cultural theories of sound at the University of Technology Sydney, and works as Technical Manager at Metro Screen.