Category Archive
The following is a list of all entries from the Site specific category.
Visuals for Project Pigeon Watch
19 February 2012
Colour morphs (as part of project pigeon watch, 2011)
Courting Pigeons (as part of project pigeon watch, 2011)
Colour morphs (as part of project pigeon watch, 2011), is a sculpture that uses cable ties to represent the average number and colour of pigeons over a year.
I had many different ideas for a visual representation, including bar charts (using photographs taken during my observations of pigeons), paper beaks, plaster casts of pigeon feet (there’s a pair in my studio!), coloured strips of vinyl measuring the same distance of a pigeons wing span, repeat patterns to represent the shape and movement of bird flight and many more… but the cable tie sculpture was something that I was able to create instantly in my studio as a starting point to fuel other works.
Observing pigeons may not sound like the most interesting and exciting subject matter, but I’ve found it a great opportunity to connect with nature. Even though pigeons are an urban bird, domesticated by humans it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are less interesting and intelligent than other rare and beautiful birds. Through observing pigeons and meeting pigeon fanciers I’ve learnt that they are one of the most intelligent birds, with an important social and political history, (as messengers with excellent navigation skills and the capacity to learn), making them familiar with mankind, even if they are not as well-loved as they once were.
Courting Pigeons (as part of project pigeon watch, 2011) is a work in progress. Each plastic bag represents a pigeon and is filled with one pound of bird grit (the average weight of a pigeon). A selection of filled bags are positioned on top of each other (in courting positions) and some balanced on top of glass jars containing a liquid to represent crop milk (which is secreted by both male and female pigeons to feed their young). Im hoping to collect more jars and fill more plastic bags to a total of 79 to create an installation in my studio space.
What does Blackpool sound like in 2011?
January 2012
What does Blackpool sound like in 2011? and The Shadow Inside are the result of a commission by The Grundy Art Gallery to create a soundtrack that represents Blackpool culture in 2011.
Over 5 days in November and December, I worked with three community groups to capture sound recordings, including interviews with residents, shop owners, the sound of the pier, arcades, music, the zoo, the market and much more.
The Shadow Inside is a piece written by Barry McCann. It was recorded at the highest point in the Grundy Art Gallery.
Both soundtracks will be exhibited for the public in March 2012, venue TBC.
Listen to What does Blackpool sound like in 2011? 6.38 mins
The Shadow Inside, 1.41 mins
Exchange Bar art exhibition
17 November 2011
The artists at Wright Studio (based at Faircharm Industrial Estate, off Evelyn Drive), exhibited work created at the studio (including work in progress) at The Exchange Bar in Leicester… since then there have been discussions for the group to exhibit at the bar on a regular basis. As part of the exhibition I decided to exhibit Feeding Frenzy and Baguette Microphone.
Baguette Microphone at the Exchange bar
Artist from Wright studios exhibit at the Exchange bar
Feeding Frenzy exhibited at the Exchange bar
World Event Young Artists 2012
31 Oct 2011
What is WEYA?
World Event Young Artists is the very first event of its kind to take place. It is an exciting occasion bringing together and celebrating the talent and artistic excellence of young people from across the globe. In September 2012 World Event for Young Artists [WEYA] will bring a staggering 1,000 young artists (18 – 30 years) from 120 nations to Nottingham. More info
For all artworks, soundtracks and statements entered for WEYA please view my profile on Axis, the online resource for contemporary art.
Proposal to WEYA (200 word limit)
This proposal is for four art/sound installations based on the social and flocking behaviour of pigeons, whilst investigating the historic and current relationship with humans. Each piece was created using found objects and pigeon-related items. The sound installations contain recordings from pigeons eating bread, a pigeon auction and the sound of Thai whistles attached to flying pigeons. The End of the Line, interprets information based on the messages delivered by pigeons during the Franco-Prussian War. Egg Box Messages is a tribute to the pigeon Cher Ami, who saved the lives of the Lost Battalion during WWI. To support Cornell Science Laboratory with research into feral pigeon behaviour, I have monitored and fed a group of pigeons for a year. Feeding Frenzy uses bread and seed on light sensitive paper to create eight prints, accompanied by a recording taken from a microphone hidden inside a loaf of bread. A pound of pigeon uses bird grit to demonstrate the average weight of a pigeon, positioned in the topological distance model to represent a flock of birds. The pigeon feathers; in a ‘V’ shape, show the wings when at their highest point, in relation to its flushing distance (how close one can get to a bird before it flies off.)
My reason’s for applying for WEYA
To be involved in a high profile arts event, that will provide a platform to raise my profile, and showcase a series of new sound installations, created in 2011 to the East Midlands and beyond. To build creative networks with talented practitioners from across the UK, that are using innovative and inspiring methods of working. The opportunity to engage in creative dialogue and broaden my knowledge will enrich my practice, enabling my work and professional development to flourish at an international level.
All successful applicants will be notified in February… fingers and toes crossed!
Venice Biennale- ILLUMInations
25 Oct 2011
Wander around the maze of walk ways rather than catching a water bus
Floods in St Marks Square and the queue for St Mark's Campanile
Ive never been to Venice or the Biennale, so this seemed like the perfect trip for a break and inspiration! Arriving into Venice on Sunday just after midnight I was surprised by how quiet and calm the narrow walk ways and water ways were. The hotel we had booked was closed and the lady running it refused to come and let us in (cow), so we had to find and pay for another hotel for the night. Admittedly not the best start but the next day the sun was shining and even though the Biennale was closed today, there was still plenty for us (me and my friend Nic), to explore. We jumped on a water bus and found a cafe close to the Giardini, had coffee and fed biscuits by hand to pigeons and sparrows. Wandered through the walk ways and the market, found the Piazza San Marco and was completely stunned as we turned a corner to see the St Mark’s Basilic. We went up the 323 ft St Mark’s Campanile and grabbed a pizza roll and some beer from the local supermarket.
On Tuesday we went to the Arsenal district and the Giardini and went around the WHOLE exhibition! We were exhausted but it was worth it! Talk about art fatigue!
The three highlights for me were Mike Nelson‘s large scale installation, Impostor at the British Pavilion. He spent three months transforming the British pavilion in Venice for the biennale. The resulting installation is a delicate and melancholic meditation on identity and historical memory. More info.
Christian Boltanski‘s installation Chance at the French pavilion. This exhibition playfully explores the luck and fate of newborns, whose beginnings are subject entirely to chance. While the title translated in french has a positive connotation of luck and good fortune, the english interpretation conversely suggests hazard or risk, rendering the exhibition appropriately ambiguous. More info. Watch a video of the installation here on designboom.
Fernando Prats‘ Sismografias project at the Chilean Pavilion. Fernando effectively stones his paintings, he lets the branches whip them or that the doves leave the marks of the flapping of their wings on them; the photographs of his work process reveal that he even licks the smoke cured surface of the paintings in order to leave enigmatic traces, or that even worms “draw” fascinating labyrinthical lines on the fertile territory of this other incarnation of painting. More info.
Tumble at the Pigeon Wing
15 Oct 2011
Tumble, Multi-channel audio installation for racing pigeons by Matt Lewis
A great exhibition based on pigeon flight patterns by artist Matt Lewis at The Pigeon Wing, in the Guild House on Rollins Street, London. I met Matt who was kind enough to show me and fellow sound artist Esther around the exhibition and even took us onto the roof of the exhibition space to meet the pigeons responsible for creating his latest body of work.
Following his state side residency at Diapason, New York, Matt Lewis is producing a generative multi-channel audio installation for carrier pigeons. This project explores pigeon racing culture, multi-channel audio performance and notions of musical score.
Text from The Pigeon Wing Gallery: We currently have racing pigeons on The Pigeon Wing roof, Matt Lewis is training them ready for flights later this month. During the two weeks that the installation runs in the gallery space, the pigeons will be fitted with GPS tracking devices and released from various locations around city and will fly back to their loft above the gallery space. The flight routes – tracked by GPS – will form the musical structure of the piece, with the coordinates of their flight, airspeed and distance defining which audio material is triggered, all audio will be drawn from environmental recordings made from the gallery roof. The audio will be in multi-channel with 4.1 separate audio channels. Also displayed will be a visual score generated from the flight information, forming a composition of the birds’ performance in retrospect. This score will be performed by musicians on 15th Oct. In addition to the installation there will be screenings of documentaries on pigeon culture. This project was made possible with the support of Diapason Gallery, New York.
Getting a studio space
14 Oct 2011
I have a studio space at Wright Studios in Leicester. I moved in mid October and am very lucky to have such a nice, talented bunch of artists around me.
Here’s what it looks like so far …
I’m hoping to use it to experiment with found objects, to record and play back sound recordings (lucky fellow artists!) and also as an installation space.
Project space at the GC Gallery
6 Oct 2011
Since returning from a month-long residency in France (April), I’ve been thinking of ways to develop the ideas and techniques used to create sound installation The End of the Line. Most of the studio work was based on the interpretation of data, listing carrier pigeons successful and failed attempts at delivering messages during the Franco-Prussian War (pigeon post into Paris).
I’ve been using the project space at the Great Central Gallery in Leicester between July – September to create installations/experiments that analyse the social and flocking behaviour of pigeons, using scientific theories and models, whilst examining our current relationship with pigeons. I’ve been experimenting with creating installations using sound recordings taken from pigeon lofts and fanciers, using found objects and pigeon-related items (bird grit, pigeon feet, whole pigeon wings and feathers).
A pound of pigeon uses bird grit to demonstrate the average weight of a pigeon, positioned in the shape of the topological distance model to represent a flock of birds. The pigeon feathers; in a ‘V’ shape, show the wings when at their highest point, in relation to the flushing distance model (how close one can get to a bird before it flies off.)
Project Pigeon talk at The New Art Gallery Walsall
3 Sept 2011
Alex and Ian from Project Pigeon invited me to talk about my art practice and my current projects inspired by pigeons, at The New Art Gallery Walsall. I spoke about my fascination with the group of feral pigeons at a canal in Leicester, Don’t Shoot the Messenger sound walk, Project Pigeon, an artist residency in France inspired by the Pigeon Post into Paris during the Franco Prussian War and the recent experiments with pigeons and nature print paper and a baguette microphone.
Project Pigeon will be organising a series of pigeon-related events over the coming weekends at the gallery including:
Sat 10 Sept, 11am – 5pm: An exhibition of over 50 breeds of pigeon.
Sat 17 Sept, 11am – 5pm: A free film screening of pigeon-related movies, including artist Lyndall Phelps’ ‘Pigeon Archive’, footage from a camera attached to a pigeon.
Sat 24 Sept, 11.30am – 4pm: An auction day of racing pigeons and a pigeon release from the gallery terrace at 3.30pm. See www.project-pigeon.co.uk for further info.
Baguette microphone
20 July 2011
The ha
lf-baked baguette worked as a perfect host for my NT55 Rode microphone. Previous recordings of pigeons at the canal had been distorted due to the loud sounds coming from the nearby factory and also the canal, in particular the weir.
The pigeons took a little coaxing, (there was already a pile of bread crumbs left by someone else to compete with!) to feed off the baguette microphone, but once they started it was a challenge to get them to stop and they quickly found the microphone.
I wanted to record the sounds of pigeons feeding and was inspired by Chris Watson, at a course organised by Wild Eye. He spoke about his time in the dessert recording the sound of vultures feeding off a dead zebra carcass and how he had successfully added a microphone to the skeleton.
I walk along the canal and see the pigeons everyday, if they have been left food they tear it apart, so it is more manageable to eat, by flinging it with their beaks, fighting off seagulls and other birds. I wanted to record this intimate sound, but what I got was a muffled recording. The hum of the factory, the occasional snort, squeak and wing flap from a pigeon, but mainly an aggressive pecking which sounded like an attack on the microphone. This wasn’t the best way to record pigeons feeding, the microphone had an omni-directional head on it, so no matter where the pigeon was feeding from, its ‘peck’ could be heard. Perhaps next time I need to use a clip tie microphone attached to the baguette or make a frame for it to sit in above the bread to be able to take a more realistic and clear recording.
Listen to baguette microphone approx 2.30 mins
Bread trail
18 July 2011
There’s still bread crumbs dotted around the house after this experiment. I made a trail of bread crumbs from the bottom of the stairs to the toilet seat in our house. If I had a studio space this is the kind of experiment that would happen there.
I’m interested in using food that would usually be throw for the pigeons. I’ve seen people throw down whole carrier bags of bread at the canal, I’ve also recently seen more rats lurking.
Feeding Frenzy sun prints
17 July 2011
There’s a few ideas for projects involving pigeons, paint, sun print paper, bread, seed, fans, projections, whistles, monitors and video that I want to try out.
I drove to the canal to have a go at the sun print paper idea.
I wanted to use a different method to document feeding the pigeons, so I used sun print paper (or nature print paper). The paper is coated with light sensitive chemicals that react when exposed to light. When solid objects are placed on the paper, they block the light and turn white, while the paper around them remains blue. To encourage the pigeons to stand on the paper and essentially make their mark, I covered the paper with bread and seed. It wasn’t hard to encourage the pigeons to feed off the paper, as this is the same group of birds I usually feed every Wednesday for Project Pigeon Watch (gathering one year’s worth of data on pigeon colour morphs and courtship behaviour, to produce a sound composition). I drove to the canal so that I could use the boot of my car as a processing area. It had a tray of water that was used to ‘fix’ the image after approx 1 minute exposure to sunlight.
CAMAC artist residency in France
7 May 2011
I have spent a month at CAMAC (art, science, technology organisation), based in Marnay-sur-Seine, as part of an artist residency programme. As a result I have created 3 new sound installations, inspired by the pigeon post into Paris. Developed from a series of experimental studio works, all 3 sound installations were shown as part of the Open studio event at CAMAC on 28 April.
Marnay-sur-Seine is rural and remote and CAMAC is positioned with the River Seine on one side and a transport canal on the other. Every morning I was woken by a chorus of birds and the first chime of the day by the church bell. At dusk a chorus of frogs could be heard from the River Seine. Ive kept a blog to document my time at CAMAC and will use the new sound installations to fuel further work now that Im back in Leicester… all I need now is a studio space!
Canal cams
28 March 2011
*UPDATE: Unfortunately all 5 pinhole cameras were removed while I was away in France, so I was unable to capture any images from the cameras.
Ive made 5 pinhole cameras from beer cans and attached them to locations at the canal (near the Rally park), in Leicester. These ‘cameras’ contain photo paper which will capture an image (long exposure photograph), of all the activity at the canal between Sat 26 March – Sat 30 April. Take a look at Justin Quinnell’s website- he truly is the godfather when it comes to long exposure pinhole photography, some of his work has used pinhole to capture 6 month duration images.
As I will not be in Leicester to feed the pigeons (as part of Project Pigeon Watch), during April, this is one way to see what Ive missed. Fingers crossed the cameras will survive until I return!
Bird recording
27 March 2011
Attenborough Nature Reserve. Image by Simon Cruickshank
Since 2007, I have been making sound recordings using in-ear microphones to produce binaural audio walks and installations. Since March 2010, Ive been keen to use different methods of recording sound, particularly the sound of birds. With advice from Wildeye, Jez Riley and the Wildlife Sound Recording Society, I have purchased a parabolic dish from Telinga and a Rode NT55 compact condenser microphone. The parabolic dish acts as a focal point for sound to be captured by the microphone, it is such a powerful tool for recording bird song that it has been described as making the sound 10 times closer to the person recording the sound. It is a non- intrusive way of recording birds from a distance, without scaring them away. A parabolic dish is “an acoustical filter, approximately compensating for distance.”
Last weekend I went to several places to test out the recording equipment, including the Attenborough Nature Centre in Nottinghamshire, the canal in Leicester (Rally Park), Watermead Country Park and Bradgate Park.
Here’s some recordings from that weekend:
Attenborough Nature Reserve, with a train track nearby it can be quite noisy, but it was large enough to be able to record some decent bird songs/calls.
Attenborough 1: Approx 2 mins, Celebrating getting the new mic to work, blue tits, geese, horses, a wood pigeon flying past, magpie? and the water lapping at our feet.
Attenborough 2: Approx 1 min and my favourite recording from the day: Blue tits, geese, gulls and mallards!
Contact microphones pick up vibrations, rather than air pressure. Here is the sound of a contact microphone wrapped around a steel fence that is being pinged and slapped and also the placed on the throat area to pick up the vibrations of the voice box.
Steel smack and throat: Approx 1 min 30 secs
Canal in Leicester (Rally park), a bit dodgy but still one of my favourite places in Leicester. The recording was distorted because of the sound of the weir and the factory nearby. Ive not added the recording, as I can barely make out the sound of any wildlife, let alone the pigeons.
Watermead Country Park, a great place for bird watching and not bad for recording sound, although it is positioned next to a dual carriage way, so the sound of traffic can interfere with recordings. Recording coming soon.
Bradgate Park, the biggest park of all the above and the only one with wild deer and a dovecote. This is where I was able to record the sounds of the birds (and pigeons!) and a bee trying to push its way under the earth. Recording coming soon.
Wednesday is feeding day
3 Nov 2010
Each Wednesday between 8.30am – 9.30am at the Rally Park, near the canal in Leicester I will thrown a small amount of bread for the pigeons and collect data on the following:
- The total number of pigeons
- The number of pigeons of each color morph (I will focus on 7 different colour morphs)
- The number of courting pigeons (and their colour)
I first started to collect data on Wed 13 Oct and will continue until 30 March 2011. Each month I will send this data to the Cornell Science Lab in NY, to support with their research into why pigeons exist in so many colours. I will also share the data with Alex Patterson, a young and very talented composer based in Nottingham, who will support with the composition and creation of a piece of music using the data by assigning each colour morph with a key (A – G). The composition will also take inspiration from the French composer and ornithologist Olivier Messiaen, who was inspired by bird song and Synesthesia, a neurological condition, in one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme → color synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently coloured.
Colour morph/Key:
Red= A
Checkered= B
Spread= C
Blue bar= D
Red bar= E
White = F
Pied= G
Courting pigeons= two keys will be played together (depending on the colour) or substituted for a sharp/flat key
Data collected so far:
Wed 13 Oct 68 pigeons
Wed 13 Oct
Total number of pigeons= 68
Colour morphs:
Red= 11, Checkered=20, Spread= 12, Blue bar= 20,
Red bar= 2, White = 1, Pied= 2, Courting= 0
Wed 20 Oct 140 pigeons
Wed 20 Oct
Total number of pigeons= 140
Colour morphs:
Red= 10, Checkered= 43, Spread= 70, Blue bar= 6
Red bar= 2, White = 2, Pied= 7, Courting= 0
Wed 27 Oct 112 pigeons
Wed 27 Oct
Total number of pigeons= 112
Colour morphs:
Red= 8, Checkered= 61, Spread= 23, Blue bar= 13
Red bar= 1, White = 1, Pied= 5, Courting= 0
More images for Project Pigeonwatch
Project PigeonWatch
12 October 2010
I’m taking part in Project PigeonWatch for the Cornell lab of Ornithology in New York.
Project PigeonWatch is a citizen science project in which volunteers count pigeons and record the colours of courting pigeons. Pigeon watching can take place anywhere in the world where pigeons gather in flocks, are accustomed to being fed, and have close contact with people. The data reported back to scientists are crucial for this ongoing research, and pigeon watchers, in turn, learn about birds and how science and scientists work at the Cornell lab of Ornithology in NY.
The project helps people learn about the colouration and courtship behaviours of pigeons and tries to understand why pigeons exist in so many colours.
Rather than just gather data on how many pigeons I see and the variations in colour, I will create a map showing pigeon ‘hot-spots’ across Leicester city, capturing data using photography, video and sound recordings. One day a week, I will feed a group of pigeons that congregate by the canal side at the Rally Park, whilst also investigating where other flocks of pigeons gather for regular feeding opportunities across the city, including interviews with the people that feed them.
Learn more about the Cornell lab of Ornithology are why they are encouraging volunteers to count the different colour morphs and recording the colours of courting pigeons in many different cities to support scientific research. More images for Project Pigeonwatch
Flock
13 September 2010
Flock is an origami bird installation consisting of 300 white swans, ducks and pigeons. It was installed with the support of the young curators on Friday 10 September and exhibited as part of Wirksworth Festival on Sat 11 and 12 September, 12.30- 4.30pm at Wirksworth teaching pool. A soundtrack accompanied the installation, created from several binaural audio recordings taken from Watermead Country Park in Leicestershire at 4am, when attending a dawn chorus to celebrate the return of hundreds of migratory birds.
The young curators made origami birds to float into the water and also decided where some of the birds would go, and helped attach to the wall and changing room as part of the installation.
Listen to flock
The birds were nailed into the wooden beams running across the ceiling and into the wall, window sills and changing rooms. Visitors were invited to make their own origami bird to launch into the pool and were also able to swim amongst the birds. The exhibition had around 240 visitors of all ages.
A selection of visitor comments:
I think that it is really fun!
I like the sounds.
Love it- George
Adam and Jack.
I think that it is very clever.
Its good- Josh.
I like it- Phoebe
Free/Serenity and good fun.
This was brilliant- Emily
Don’t Shoot the Messenger (Wirksworth)
8 Sept 2010
Listen to Don’t Shoot the Messenger
All tracks have been recorded using in- ear microphones to produce binaural audio recordings and need to be Listened to with stereo headphones.
Track 1 (4.45 mins)
Track 2 (6 mins)
Track 3 (2.30 mins)
Track 4 (3.30 mins)
To download all tracks onto an mp3 player please go to www.wirksworthfestivalsoundwalk.wordpress.com
Stain AV projection onto pool
21 August
As part of the commission for the Wirksworth young curators, I will produce ‘Stain’ a video to project onto the teaching pool, this will be accompanied by a soundtrack. Visitors are invited to watch the colour and texture of the water change through vibrant video projections, whilst swimming and listening to a collection of sounds recorded in the teaching pool building, including drips, splashes, shivers and underwater recordings.
The projection will be shown on Saturday 12 September 7- 9pm at Wirksworth teaching pool, as part of Wirksworth Festival.
Test projection of Stain in my garden. Images by Stephen Lynch.
Flock- origami bird installation with soundtrack
15 August
This weekend I met with the Wirksworth young curators; they want to commission me to produce a piece of art for the teaching pool in Wirksworth. I will put together a proposal and start to experiment with ideas and materials, keeping the group informed of any progression along the way… I’m thinking video projection, sound, origami birds, balloons, umbrellas and night time swimming!
This is a really exciting and rare opportunity for me to experiment with something other than sound, or to work with sound and another medium, such as video and sculpture.
The folding starts here...
Wirksworth teaching pool
A tiny 10m x 5m x 1m
Don’t Shoot the Messenger at Wirksworth Festival
17 June 2010
Don’t Shoot the Messenger is a series of guided binaural audio walks, created specifically for different cities and towns based on the notion of a birds viewpoint of the landscape, looking down from the roof tops.
As part of the Don’t Shoot the Messenger project, I will produce a binaural audio walk for Wirksworth Festival to take place in September 2010. A separate blog to document my time in the town and meetings with residents will be added to www.wirksworthfestivalsoundwalk.wordpress
School Soundscapes
13 February 2010
I recently worked with pupils from Newark Orchard and Grove Schools using mono, stereo and binaural recordings, using a standard dynamic microphone, in-ear microphones and hydrophones to produce three soundscapes, as part of the ‘School’s Out’ exhibition at Rufford Art Gallery.
Pupils were asked to explore the journeys they make while at school and to make a list of the sounds that they encountered along the way. Each journey was documented through a hand drawn map, which was then followed by a group of pupils. During the journey, pupils made notes of what they could see and hear, whilst others narrated live into the ear of Winston (the dummy head, who wore the in- ear microphones).
The group made a list of all the sounds they could hear including footsteps, squeaky gates, children in class rooms, kids playing football in the playground, planes and trains and the sound of lunch being prepared. Some pupils wanted to include a narration into the soundscapes that explored the notion of giving an inanimate and silent object (found in and around the school) a voice. The narration explores what the object would say to pupils- for example, the pupils felt that a lonely cold bench in the school playground would say “Do you mind? You’ve left me out in the cold and now your sat on me!”
All of the audio recordings were then edited together to produce three different soundscapes positioned within the ‘Schools Out’ installation and played through speakers.
Photo by Jo Wheeler, on behalf of Nottingham County Council
Photo by Jo Wheeler, on behalf of Nottingham County Council
Photo by Jo Wheeler, on behalf of Nottingham County Council
Photo by Jo Wheeler, on behalf of Nottingham County Council
Schools Out Exhibition details: Running between 2 February and 14 March, ‘Schools Out’ showcases the creative ideas of young people from seven Nottinghamshire schools. Through working with artists and architects they have been able to realize a new vision for their future school.
Building Schools for the Future is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The programme will rethink, rebuild, remodel every state secondary school in England to create inspirational learning environments designed for the whole community.
This exhibition showcases the creative ideas of young people at seven Nottinghamshire schools working with artists and architects to realize a new vision for their future school.
Children’s School Journeys approx 5 mins
What did you hear at school today? approx 1.30 mins
Toilet Talk approx 1.30 mins
Only the soundscape ‘Children’s School Journey’s’ was recorded using in- ear microphones so should be listened to via stereo headphones. The other soundscapes were recorded using a variety of microphones, therefore it is not essential to use stereo headphones for playback.
Humberstone Gate IAC recording
October 2009
The Independent Art Centre (based in Leicester on Humberstone Gate) will create an opportunity for the introduction of the arts to the community with gallery spaces, a stage, cafe, studio, office and workshop spaces. The building has recently been refurbished and is due to open Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October. The opening will coincide with Oxjam Leicester, a national music festival, with the aim to raise money and awareness for Oxfam. As part of Oxjam Leicester, artist led forum Stench (performance, experimental music and digital art based in Leicester) will host a day of experimental and electronic music featuring Stench members at The Independent Art Centre.
I was asked to contribute to the day and have produced a site specific binaural audio recording in response to The Independent Art Centre and the surrounding environment. The soundscape should be listened to whilst sat on one of the benches facing the Independent Art Centre through stereo headphones and is available to download.
Please listen to Humberstone Gate IAC here via stereo headphones or you can pick up a pair of headphones and mp3 player at The Independent Art Centre on Sunday 24 October 4pm- 11pm.
Panoramic view of Humberstone Gate
The Independent Art Centre
Other businesses surrounding The Independent Art centre
Research and recordings for Humberstone Gate Soundscape
September- October 2009
The final soundscape was composed using binaural audio recordings taken from a bench opposite the Independent Art Centre. Recordings were also taken in the shops next to the Independent Art Centre, including the taxi rank and my journey to and from Humberstone Gate via bus and taxi. The building that now hosts the IAC used to be a Walkabout club, therefore recordings from the Walkabout based on Granby Street were added in to reflect past events and previous usage of the building. Observations of the environment, its inhabitants, passersby were noted (whilst sat on a bench opposite the IAC) and the opinions of local businesses and discussions surrounding the opening of the IAC collated, some of which were added to the final soundscape.
Recording at Walkabout bar, Granby Street, Leicester
River Soundscapes
August- October 2009
My journey to work takes me past the Grand Union canal in Leicester and the River Trent in Nottingham.
For 1 hour each day of the week, I travel between Leicester and Nottingham. The scenery outside the train window takes me past the River Soar and when I arrive into Nottingham, I walk over the bridge and see the River Trent and the same man sat on a bench overlooking the water.
The River Trent is surrounded by an industrial estate and is used as a venue for extreme sporting activities and as a method of transport by narrow boat. It has been a point of interest for many creative initiatives, used by professional artists, writers and performers. Hinterland; set up to closely examine geographical areas that surround the River Trent in Nottingham, commissioned a series of site specific projects along the River Trent, including a series of talks and performances, that engaged the public in foraging trips, cycle powered cinema’s and much more to raise awareness and celebrate the river and the surrounding area.
The canal in Leicester is also surrounded by an industrial estate, a park and a new block of flats that overlook the wildlife that live in the canal. Sadly the residents see the canal as a bin, filling it with rubbish, rather than nurturing the area or using it as a source for inspiration.
Binaural audio recordings have been taken from the Grand Union canal in Leicester to produce a sample soundscape with the intention of comparing and contrasting it to a sample from the River Trent.
Please listen to Leicester Canal (sample) via stereo headphones. Approx 40 secs.
Bench man sitting opposite the River Trent.
Swan swimming in Leicester canal
Walk With Me
April- June 2009
Nottingham castle has a turbulent history- dating back to 1068 when the castle was built out of wood by William the conqueror, it has been re-made in stone, been host to royal residents, turned into a mansion, damaged by the civil war and burnt down during riots in 1831.
The ‘castle’ is now a museum and art gallery open to visitors all year round, hosting contemporary exhibitions, events and outdoor theatre.
I have been commissioned to produce a binaural audio walk for the grounds of the castle for visitors to access during Spring 2009. Please visit the link below for further information. www.castlewalkwithme.wordpress.com
Walk With Me is a site specific binaural audio walk for the grounds of Nottingham Museum and Gallery. Please listen to Walk With Me via stereo headphones. Approx 11 mins.
Walk With Me in the grounds of Nottingham Museum and Art Gallery
Annual
December 2008- January 2009
The Collection (gallery and museum) based in Lincoln, invited me to produce work as part of their ongoing artist in residence programme for a month.
I produced Annual, a binaural audio installation for the studio space of The Collection by capturing audio from around the city, including the Christmas fair and Lincoln Cathedral.
For more information on the Annual residency please visit www.lucythecollection.blogspot.com
Annual was a site specific binaural audio installation based at The Collection studio space. Please listen to Annual via stereo headphones. Approx 2 mins 30 secs.
The Christmas Market based at Lincoln Castle was a site specific recording to be listened to at Lincoln Castle. Please listen to via stereo headphones. Approx 1 min 30 secs.
Christmas Eve at Lincoln Cathedral was a site specific recording to be listened to at Lincoln Cathedral. Please listen to via stereo headphones. Approx 3 mins 30 secs.
Annual installation in The Collection studio space
Producing a soundtrack for Gold soundz
September 2008
The context for the artwork produced for the Gold Soundz exhibition is based on inspirational music.
I was introduced to the work of Amon Tobin, a Brazilian musician, DJ, and producer of sample-based music by a friend and DJ (Dez), who partly collaborated with me to produce the soundtrack for the exhibition.
The structure of the track was based on simple drum beats created by Dez and mixed together with binaural audio recordings taken from inside the gallery, including the upstairs studio areas, workshop space and kitchen and the outside area of the gallery. The window design using hazard tape was designed by Geoff Litherland (curator and artist for Gold Soundz).
Gold Soundz was a window space binaural audio installation, produced as part of a group exhibition for Southwell Artspace. Please listen to Untitled (Southwell Artspace) via stereo headphones. Approx 2 mins 30 secs
Lucy listening to soundscape
Dez listening to soundscape
Gold Soundz
August 2008
Curated by Geoff Diego Litherland, an exhibition which contains artwork inspired by music , especially music played with guitars often quite loudly.
Opening Saturday 27 September, the exhibition is an electic mix of drawings, paintings, sculpture, videos, print, books, music and sound installations and contains a FREE animation activity for groups of children, young people and families.
-Frances and Alison, Southwell Artspace, Nottinghamshire
Gold- Soundz flyer
Rome
June 2008
A short trip to Rome was a great opportunity to gather some unusual audio.
The audio taken from Santa Maria della Concezione and the crypt (below the church) was a surreal experience. As I walked into the church the blarring sound of the traffic disappeared behind me. I could hear the faint sound of people shuffling in their seats and the church bell chiming. I got up to walk to the front area and just as I did the people right at the front started to pray and chant, I quickly went back to my seat because I didnt want to intrude, but still sat to listen.
The crypt below the church presented a very uncomfortable and sad environment. The cold atmosphere and poignant music really affected its visitors, including myself- making me feel anxious and as if I were intruding. I managed to pick up the sound of the church bells and other visitors comments as they walked past me.
*Please listen to Santa Maria della Concezione and crypt via stereo headphones. Approx 3.30 minutes
View from our hotel in Rome
The Crypt below Santa Maria della Concezione
Singing waiters in Rome
The Big Session, Leicester
June 2008
The Big Session is a music folk festival based in Leicester.
The recorded binaural audio has captured many features of the festival including the bands, singer/song writers, the audience cheering and clapping, people talking, joking, laughing and sharing gossip.
The level of volume from the music and crowds of people reveals the change in ambience as the listener is taken on a journey around the festival.
Please listen to The Big Session 2008 via stereo headphones. Approx 3 mins
The Big Session 2008 flyer
Craft and food stalls at The Big Session
Main stage
Big Kids workshop assistants
Wollaton Hall Gardens and Deer park, Nottingham
May 2008
The binaural audio recorded at this site includes the environment inside Wollaton Hall, including the staff and visitors and sounds from the park area, including people playing games and traffic.
When recording binaural audio, it can be frustrating when great sounds are not recorded and documented, for example: an elderly couple arguing as they walked towards me and a couple shouting at a dog who had stolen part of their picnic! However, for me the whole process of recording binaural audio is about trying to silently observe the surrounding environment, but this can be a challenge when you desperately want to comment on your surroundings, laugh or sneeze!
Please listen to Wollaton Hall and Deer Park via stereo headphones. Approx 2 minutes
Stuffed animal heads inside Wollaton Hall
Wollaton Hall
Monkey Forest
April 2008
Trentham in Stoke-on-Trent has a monkey reserve containing one hundred and forty Barbary Macaque monkeys.
The binaural recording was a little disappointing because the monkeys didn’t make any sounds at all, although I did capture the tour guide giving a talk, as well as a video explaining how the monkeys survive the harsh British winters and the general ambiance of the place (birds singing and rivers flowing). With this soundscape I believe the best part of the audio to describe the experience was from the gasps and shouts of excitement from the children.
*Please listen to Monkey Forest via stereo headphones. Approx 3 mins
Monkey Forest, Stoke on Trent
Conscious Void
Binaural Audio Installation and Textile Hanging, December 2007.
The Upstairs Gallery, The City Gallery, Leicester.
Collaboration with Cat Preston
MA Fine Art Nottingham Trent University graduates Lucy Stevens and Cat Preston collaborated on a five- day exhibition at the Upstairs Gallery of The City Gallery to combine traditional textiles with binaural audio recordings.
Using the Upstairs Gallery of The City Gallery as a host, the installation allows visitors to interact with the physical environment by touching the textile hanging and moving through the shadows produced by the delicate and carefully cut flower design. Preston responds to the beauty of the traditional feminine craft and its endurance of creation, creating a textile divide within the gallery space.
The space behind the textile hanging invites the visitor to listen to binaural audio via stereo headphones. The spot lights and shadows act as a enclosure putting the visitor in a position of complete physical and mental immersion. The binaural audio was gathered on site at The City Gallery and from other locations, including Bridgford Park and the Nine Ladies Stone Circle to give a sense of transportation from inside to outside and much further away, as if accessing Stevens’ different memories all at once.
- Listening to Conscious Void
- The Upstairs Gallery at The City Gallery
*Please listen to Conscious Void via stereo headphones. Approx 3 mins
Bellytastic
Binaural Audio Installation, July 2007.
MAzing group exhibition, The Arts Organisation, Nottingham
For this particular binaural audio installation I felt it was important to produce a recording that was site specific and reflected the location and the events that took place. Not only did the location cater for art lovers but also as an entertainment source. I found myself in the audience of an Arabic Shimmies and Shakes belly dancing event.
The binaural audio takes the listener on a journey through the evening, as they experience a collection of audio including jangling skirts and jewellery bouncing off dancing belly dancers, a man talking loudly on his mobile phone, people from the audience whispering, talking and helping the host remember the names of the performers and a DJ who (no matter how hard he tried) could never get the correct song to each performance much to the annoyance of the belly dancers.
- Image from Bellytastic event
- Listening to Bellytastic
- MA Fine Art flyer
*Please listen to Bellytastic via stereo headphones. Approx 5.30 mins
Unheard Sounds
Binaural Audio walk, July 2007.
Feast MA Exposition, Nottingham Trent University
Visitors to the exhibition were invited to borrow an MP3 player and go on a guided walk. With the unsettling preamble: ‘I usually only hear it at night’, the narrator takes the listener on a journey, directing them down steps, round corners, through doors, to a dark space where ‘ the air feels heavy and damp, making it hard to breathe’ and where a moving black shadow appears just at the edge of vision. The narrator’s superstitions (‘I try to avoid the white tape on the stairs’) and fears (‘we’re being followed…’) are reinforced by sinister music, strategically placed, and by the ambient sounds of accompanying footsteps, of doors opening right on cue, of drilling, banging, a gasp of fear, thunder, running water, the echo of a voice, a brief, muffled commotion and then, the narrator’s voice stops – silence – until another voice, as if over a two-way radio, announces the discovery of a dead body.
Listening to the recording, our awareness is heightened at the same time as it is bemused, disorientated: the particular qualities of binaural recording create a 360- degree experience of sound which blurs the line between fiction and reality, so that we are thrown off-balance, unsure what is ‘live sound’ and what is recorded: prey to our own imagination.
- Deborah Dean, Visual Art & Exhibitions Manager, Nottingham City Museums and Galleries
- Listening to Unheard Sounds
- Unheard Sounds exhibition space
- MA Fine Art flyer
*Unheard Sounds is a site specific binaural audio walk, to be listened to at the Bonington building at Nottingham Trent University. Please listen to Unheard Sounds via stereo headphones. Approx 5 mins
The Sounds of the Playhouse
Binaural Audio Walk, June 2007.
Offsite MA group exhibition, The Playhouse, Nottingham
The Sounds of the Playhouse is a direct response to the Playhouse Theatre and a recent showing of the mystery thriller ‘I Have Been Here Before’ by J.B. Priestly. The play was based on the Russian philosopher P.D.Ouspensky’s theory about individuals repeating their life cycle unless they can seize opportunities to free themselves from repeating past errors.
This theory informs the binaural audio walk when changes in time, space and the narrative occur, distorting the listeners reality and physical surroundings with suggestions from the past.
Visitors follow the artists directions through the Playhouse Theatre and become involved in the stories embedded in the recorded instructions and suggestions. At the end of the walk listeners find themselves in a noisy bar, a telephone rings and an edgy voice instructs the participant to ‘collect a black briefcase with a red handle’ that has been left by a man positioned outside behind the Sky Mirror sculpture, with the added warning that they ‘don’t have much time left and to be careful because everyone is listening’. However the last suggestion to collect a briefcase was just a ploy to discover how immersed the listener became in the fictional reality that had been created.
The walk uses binaural audio- a means of recording that achieves incredibly precise three- dimensional sound to create an experience of physical immediacy and complexity.
- Listening to The Sounds of the Playhouse
- Listening to The Sounds of the Playhouse
- Off Stage exhibition flyer
*Please listen to The Sounds of the Playhouse via stereo headphones. Approx 4 mins
