In this work I am using sound as a plastic sculptural medium in a site specific context. A set of hidden Mackie 420SRM active powered speakers are situated 40ft apart in the forest at King’s Wood. They are playing the sound of a mountain stream (feeding the river Töss recorded in stereo on an Edirol Roland R-09hr on the Eschenberg, Winterthur, Switzerland) at the precise level of recording (50db at 100ft distance).
There is no naturally occurring running water present in King’s Wood, Challock Kent. The intention of the work is to place a sonic mountain stream into the forest, re-contextualising the space, leading perceivers to read/encounter the space as if this sound were a naturally occurring presence in the forest.
The work exists as a test-installation, in preparation for a larger scale realization of the work, anticipated to consist of 20 Mackie 420SRM speakers placed at 40ft intervals along a total length of 800ft within the forest. A project of this scale requires substantial hardware for realization, including the hire and professional installation of the speakers and cables and suitable portable electrical power source in form of a hired 10kw silent diesel generator.
Further, in order for the work to accurately convey the sense of a flowing river, the river will be recorded using 10 Edirol Roland R-09hr stereo recorders, placed at 40ft intervals along the river and playback will be synchronized.
In this work I am following the canon of artists utilizing sound as a medium and utilized within site and place-specific contexts. Artists such as Bill Fontana (US), Mark Bain (US), Janet Cardiff (US), Susan Philipsz (UK), Carl Michael von Hausswolff (SE), Christina Kubisch (DE), Greyworld (UK), Carsten Nicolai (DE), Rolf Julius (DE), Edgar Varese (FR).
