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Residency period 15/8/25 - 15/9/25

David is a multi-discipline artist working under his registered company name - Dappled Shadows. His work engages with the community and the creation of a positive environment for all. He is a community video producer giving voice to local people, documenting artistic endeavours and exploring local histories.

His sculptural work engages with local histories, interpreting them both as historical events and as an expression of the human condition. This extends into current events and movements, and how these impact, or could impact, upon the locality. He has been involved with projects that examined the effects of fracking on the Irish landscape and community projects that revive old skills such as the Leitrim Chair project, as well as the Reminiscence project which reflected on the old SLNC Railway.

Spence's research into photography and digital print manipulation is produced in local historical publications. He is interested in music composition and performance. He explores music generation by mapping alphabetic letters to sound pitches to create musical compositions. Through his training in sound therapy, he explores the powerful effects of music and how low frequencies impact the body. His present focus engages with creating energised soundscapes.

David Spence, Church Resonator, Innishmurray Cashel, A1 digital print, (c) 2009 From a series on resonating chambers within the St Muiredach Monastery on Inishmurray. At the Innishmurray Cashel, a round beehive chamber sits beside the main rectangular church building. From the beehive extends a covered chamber running alongside the church. The stones covering this chamber have a consistent spacing of approx 830mm. A measurement of the size of this chamber gives the resonant frequency. However, the covering spacing could work as a sound plenum separating frequencies or distributing the sounds produced in the beehive evenly into the church structure. The print series explores the possibilities presented by the architecture of the monastery.
David Spence, Church Resonator,
Innishmurray Cashel, A1 digital print, (c) 2009

From a series on resonating chambers within the St Muiredach Monastery on Inishmurray. At the Innishmurray Cashel, a round beehive chamber sits beside the main rectangular church building. From the beehive extends a covered chamber running alongside the church. The stones covering this chamber have a consistent spacing of approx 830mm. A measurement of the size of this chamber gives the resonant frequency. However, the covering spacing could work as a sound plenum separating frequencies or distributing the sounds produced in the beehive evenly into the church structure. The print series explores the possibilities presented by the architecture of the monastery.
David Spence, Twin Pipes, PVC pipe whistles, 1100x255x50mm, 2024 Experimentation on binaural beat production with twin drone effects. A concept for an instrument that generates frequencies slightly off-set from a particular Sulfeggio frequency to produce a binaural beat, nominally set at 8hz. The resultant frequencies will be measured and tested on various equipment sets.
David Spence, Twin Pipes,
PVC pipe whistles, 1100x255x50mm, 2024

Experimentation on binaural beat production with twin drone effects. A concept for an instrument that generates frequencies slightly off-set from a particular Sulfeggio frequency to produce a binaural beat, nominally set at 8hz. The resultant frequencies will be measured and tested on various equipment sets.

David Spence

David is an artist and film-maker living in North Leitrim. He works extensively with the communities of the area and was employed as a historian and tour guide for Manorhamilton castle. As a craft designer, he was a technology teacher and a model engineer for Bassett Lowke and the Rover group, where he primarily worked in wood and plastics. Through his computer graphic skills, he has contributed to administrative posts, directing many community companies. He is currently the company secretary of the Community Media Television Association, and also of the North Leitrim Men’s Group, and a director of the Bee Park Community Centre.

Upcoming Residencies