Francis Heery

Francis Heery is an Irish improvisor, composer and sound artist. His music is inspired by science-fiction, occult philosophies and bio-aesthetics. Heery is the co-founder of Nexus and untergrün, two monthly experimental music nights in Berlin and has been artistic director of the Topographies Festival Berlin, as part of Zeitgeist Ireland 24. His work has been performed by the RTE Symphony Orchestra, Crash Ensemble, Quiet Music Ensemble, JACK quartet, Carin Levine, Pascal Galois, Izumi Kimura and many others.

During his residency at the CCI, Heery will compose a work for ensemble and modular synth which responds to Antonin Artaud’s journey through Ireland in 1937. The composition will combine two themes: A psycho-geographical exploration of ‘place’ as it relates to Ireland, and a psychological rendering of Artaud’s inner states during his time in Ireland. Mainly using unique Parisian resources for a sonic portrait of Artaud : Centre Georges Pompidou (contains the largest single collection of Artaud’s drawings), Bibliothèque Nationale de France (houses all of Artaud’s private notebooks), Bibliothèque Jacques Doucet (contains Artaud’s magic spells sent from Inis Mór), and Ivry-sur-Seine (the site of Artaud’s death in Paris).

In partnership with the Contemporary Music Centre.