When our movement through space triggers sound, what do we expect to hear? We have an impact on the environment that is physical and often audible.

Australia

I’ve worked with sound in my practice for some years now. I come from a radio journalism background (albeit an analogue one), so it makes sense. I first used motion-sensored sound in a work for the Cementa Festival in 2015. It was a basic set-up, but it worked.

For Eye of the Corvus, I’m working with someone who knows a bit more about microcontrollers and motion-sensor systems to enable me to trigger specific sounds in a more randomised fashion.

The cultural research I’ve been doing as part of the pre-production/research component of the project was to inform this part of the work. It’s been more difficult than I’d expected, but the timeline for the work’s completion marches on, and discussions and testing is now underway.

I’ve had a couple of studio sessions throughout May, working out what kind of human-triggered sounds will make sense in the installation. One of my favourite piece of software is Adobe Audition, which allows me to create some very cool effects on field recordings and studio recordings of human voice, traffic, raven calls, and soon, some oscillations – giving a machine-like quality (either alone or as a bed track) that should jar the audience’s attention.

This is the part that lends itself most to artistic license. I love the experimentation of manipulating and mixing sound, and I’m hopeful that my partnership with someone who knows more about coding and computers than I do will be just the right blend of creativity and code to produce what I have in my head.

We’re really only getting started on this part of the project, but with my flight to Scandinavia and Iceland looming, and only six weeks at the other end before the exhibition opening, there’s really not a lot of time to get this right.

More updates to come.