 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
See an aerial view of the Stourport Basins by clicking here
To see photos of the current restoration work in the Stourport Basins, visit the Stourport Basins Photo Gallery.
Sound
The Sound commission will invite Liminal to create a site-specific sound piece capturing the sounds of the Canal Basin and transferring/connecting these to the Town Centre to improve the links between the two sites.
This is an opportunity for an artist to create an aural link between Stourport Canal Basins and the Town Centre through the projection of sound using contemporary materials and media. Liminal will work with contemporary site information to explore and expose its unique and individual qualities. They will research into the history of the site and recognise the importance of water to the town’s development. Liminal will identify ways in which to re-present this research through a sound piece to engage new and existing audiences and assist in their understanding of the place that surrounds them.
Commission Aims:
- Improve links between the Canal Basins and the Town Centre
- Create a sound piece which will reflect the day-to-day activity of the Canal Basins
Liminal’s Response
“We have been continually nagged by the fact that a sound-walk would in fact be an eminently suitable means to fulfil the objectives of the artists brief. I am excited by the need for community engagement inherent in gathering the materials necessary for a project like this and given the potential in a sound-walk for greater temporal complexity, while not necessarily being limited to a single, linear narrative, I believe that some of the more complex narratives present on this site might be better served via this mode of engagement.
Our conceptual point of departure for this walk would be the island at the bottom of the site. We are interested in the metaphorical significance of the island as part of the basins, yet separated from them and as such, apparently 'floating' in the river Severn. With connections on the one hand to the Basins and the town beyond them and their respective histories and on the other, the river Severn and its associated palimpsest of myths and legends, the island provides a resonant metaphor as an interface between the land as it was, as defined by its relationship to the river and the land as it is, as defined by its relationship to the Basins.
Using binaural and underwater recordings made on site combined with interviews with older members of the local community and extracts from historical documents and mythological accounts, a narrative might be woven together to create a final binaural mix, in which original site and interview recordings are seamlessly combined with 'constructed' sound-scapes and texts derived from the week of recording and research.
We would envisage that the walk should start at the town library and conclude on the island. The degree to which the sound piece integrates the walk from the library to the site would have to be considered but by using a central location such as the library as the hub of the pieces logistical operation, we can fulfil both the need to raise awareness of the site in the town centre while also obviating the need for any technical infrastructure on the site itself. We feel that by providing an incentive for a visitor to actually visit the site, we go one step further than presenting sounds of the site in the abstract elsewhere in town. The sound-walk could be left with the library indefinitely and as with previous works I have made of this kind, it could potentially be re-edited into a radio programme for wider dissemination.”
Liminal
Liminal is a partnership founded in 2003 between architect Frances Crow and sound artist David Prior, specialising in the integration of sound and architecture to create 'sonic spaces'.
Liminal’s work includes:
- Sound consultancy for architects, masterplanners, artists and designers
- Sound design for exhibitions
- Site specific public sound art and permanent spatialised sound installations
- Research into relationships between architectural space and sonic arts practices
As a cross-disciplinary organisation we explore projects from two perspectives leading to new spatialised soundscapes and architectural interventions developed for their acoustic properties.
David Prior (Sound Artist/Composer): David Prior is a composer and sound artist, he studied at the University of Wales, Bangor and the University of Birmingham where he completed a Ph.D in Musical composition in December 2001. His sound work from this period often focused on the use of recorded media and multi-channel pieces which explore the use of space in musical composition.
Frances Crow (Architect): Frances Crow is a qualified architect who has worked in practice since 1998. Following her training at Liverpool John Moores and the Bartlett UCL, she worked for a number of national and international architects. Following her work with van Heyningen and Haward Architects, London, she began her own architectural design and research practice in October 2001.
Sound Commission Update:
April 2007:
Liminal are currently doing research into the technical issues surrounding the creation of the sound walk. They will continue their research on site during July and August where they will make recordings and begin to identify ways in which to interpret the site and their findings through sound. It is anticipated the sound walk will be complete in September 2007.
May/June 2007:
Liminal have been developing a technical recording device which enables sounds to be recorded from the exact place our ears receive it. This technique, when played back allows the listener to hear the actual sounds created as if listening to them in real time. Liminal are working on an idea to invite the listener to a certain point on the island area of the canal basins, and are interested in how different sounds are heard from this exact point. David Prior of Liminal has spent some time on the site experimenting with sound and gathering recordings on and around the island area. Liminal will be developing this idea during July and August.
July 2007:
Liminal visited Stourport Canal Basins for a number of days to record and experiment with certain sounds created on and by the site. They created a model of the site to plot where sounds are created and how they are heard from a particular point on the island area. Liminal are working with the idea of directing the listener to the Trow Seat area of the island through the sound walk piece.
August 2007:
David Prior of Liminal has been fascinated by the use of text in the sound walk and has been working with this idea throughout August. Although this was not the intention of Liminal initially it is a concept which they feel particularly excited by for this particular piece. They anticipate the text will place the piece into a wider context of work but will still function as a site specific piece on the island area.