Caleb Madden

Caleb Madden serves as a Research Student Lecturer at the University of Brighton's School of Art and Media within the Creative Sound and Music Research Excellence Group, concurrently completing a practice-based PhD. His interdisciplinary work bridges critical theory, philosophy, and contemporary art practices including performance, installation, and film.

His educational background features:

• MA Fine Art from the University of Brighton (awarded October 2016)

Madden's research centers on critical noise theory and the political agency of contemporary art, examining how sound and digital technologies interrogate control societies and temporal structures. He investigates hauntological dimensions of the virtual, sonic fictions, and ritualistic elements in digital spaces, often through collaborative artistic interventions that challenge modern subjectivity and online individualization. His methods integrate theoretical frameworks with tangible art production to expose ideological underpinnings of technological systems.

Analysis of his 2019-2023 outputs reveals a cohesive trajectory exploring digital-physical interfaces, with recurring motifs of parrhesia (frank speech), inhuman agency, and spectral aesthetics. Works frequently manifest as radio broadcasts, digital artefacts, and exhibitions that dissect control mechanisms through sound-based political commentary and virtual hauntologies.

As an active contributor to academic discourse, Madden has presented invited talks including 'How do we Keep It Joyous?' (April 2024) and 'A Utopia Briefly Made Real' (September 2023), alongside workshop participation in AUDINT - Unsound:Undead (January 2020). His external role as Visiting Lecturer at the Royal College of Art since 2019 extends his influence beyond Brighton.

Embedded in the Creative Sound and Music Research Excellence Group, Madden collaborates on projects examining the intersection of sonic practices and socio-political critique, particularly through the group's focus on digital art's capacity to generate alternative temporalities and counter-hegemonic narratives.