Nigel Helyer (a.k.a. Dr Sonique) is a Sydney based Sculptor and Sound Artist with an international reputation for his large scale sonic installations, environmental sculpture works and new media projects.

His practice is actively inter-disciplinary linking creative practice with scientific Research and Development. Recent activities include; the development of a ‘Virtual Audio Reality’ system in collaboration with Lake Technology (Sydney) and the ongoing ‘AudioNomad’ research project in location sensitive Environmental Audio at the School of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of New South Wales.

He is an honorary faculty member in Architectural Acoustics at the University of Sydney and maintains active research links with the “SymbioticA” bio-technology lab at the University of Western Australia. He has recently been a visiting Professor at Stanford University and an Artist in Residence at the Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland.

Nigel is a co-founder and commissioner of the “SoundCulture” organisation; a recent fellow of the Australia Council for 2002/3, the winner of the Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award 2002 and the curator of “Sonic-Differences” as part of the Biennale of Electronic Arts Perth 2004.

Nigel Helyer has a unique role in the development of Sound Art, both within Australia and at an International level. During the course of the past twenty years his contribution in the areas of practice, critical debate and advocacy have had a strong influence on the practice of Sound Art, helping it to emerge from a position of relative obscurantism to become a vital and internationally recognised form of cultural expression.