Work in Development
An exploration of what lies beneath the surface and the ways it returns to view.
A sculptural and sound-based work centred on a tree root as both source object and instrument.
Hardly a Year Goes By is an interdisciplinary project centred on a tree root unearthed in Williamstown. Buried beneath the surface for ages, the root becomes a metaphor for the hidden processes that shape thought, memory and creativity. Through sound recording, image-making and material transformation, the project explores how things that remain unseen, whether roots, memories, subconscious associations or emerging ideas, can be brought into the light and made present. The work investigates relationships between accumulation, emergence and attention, tracing the movement from what lies hidden below the surface to what becomes visible, audible and understood.
The root functions as both sculptural object and instrument. Through recording, bowing, scraping, striking and physical interaction, the project seeks to reveal latent acoustic qualities embedded within the material.
The root is transformed through photography, digital processing, fabrication and sound, generating a family of related forms that share a common origin.
Translation Study 01: 3D printed lithophane derived from a photographic study of the root.
Translation Study 02: Laser engraving tests exploring image resolution, threshold and tonal interpretation.
A series of etching studies investigating how the photographic image of the root translates into line, tone and surface through laser etching.
The root is being investigated as a resonant instrument through a series of recording techniques including bowing, striking, scraping and direct physical interaction. Current research focuses on identifying the object's latent acoustic qualities and establishing an initial body of source material for future composition and spatial development.
Audio studies will be added here as they are developed.
Listening Party and Album Presentation
Onassis ONX Studio, New York, 2024.
Presentation of the Critchley & Simmons album Gone Forever at Onassis ONX Studio in Manhattan. The event combined recorded music, spoken word and film, including a screening by filmmaker Andrew Zuckerman.
Writer, Director and Producer
Sydney Opera House Studio, 2007.
A large-scale interdisciplinary work exploring the relationships between sound, performance, philosophy, religion and space. The production brought together music, spoken word, dance, projected imagery and live performance in a multimedia investigation of ecstasy, desire and the body.
Collaboration with Simon Critchley
Sydney Opera House, Sydney / Palais de Tokyo, Paris.
A collaboration with philosopher Simon Critchley combining music, spoken word and philosophy. First presented at the Sydney Opera House before being invited to Paris as part of the 24 Hour Foucault celebration at Palais de Tokyo.
Sound Composition and Audiovisual Production
Bondi Pavilion, Sydney, 2007–2009.
An immersive marine exhibition developed for the Marine Discovery Centre at Bondi Pavilion. The installation combined underwater imagery, projection, aquariums and a purpose-built cinema. John William Simmons composed original music and contributed to the audiovisual development of the exhibition. The soundtrack was subsequently released as Bondi Blue (2009).
Music Composition and Video Editing
International Marine Conservation Project, 2012.
Composed original music and edited a promotional film for the Catlin Seaview Survey, an international project documenting the world's coral reefs using specialised underwater imaging technology. The production involved collaboration with Richard Vevers and Christophe Bailhache, with 3D modelling of the underwater survey scooter by Richie Henson.
John William Simmons is a Melbourne-based interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans sound art, installation, photography, digital media and performance. His work investigates materiality, listening, memory and place, often translating found objects and environments across sound, image and object.
His projects have been presented in Australia, Europe and the United States, including Sounding Desire at the Sydney Opera House and Palais de Tokyo, Paris, Sex, Death and Desire at the Sydney Opera House Studio, and Gone Forever at Onassis ONX Studio, New York. His experience also includes sound composition and audiovisual production for the Underwater Bondi Experience (2007–2009), with its soundtrack released as Bondi Blue (2009), and music composition and video editing for the Catlin Seaview Survey (2012). He is currently developing Hardly a Year Goes By, a new body of work exploring a tree root as both sculptural object and instrument.
Alongside his artistic practice, Simmons works at RMIT University as Library Makerspace Supervisor, supporting creative technology, digital fabrication and interdisciplinary making.