SOUND
Sirens
Sound is a very important element of the installation that I am planning, as I want to create a sense of dread. While having a tutorial I realised that one of the sounds that cause a feeling of fear is the sound of a siren, such as an air raid siren or another warning siren for disasters such as a tornado. I have been looking into hand held sirens which are powered by cranking it by hand, so the audience can interact with the piece. Because of everything that is currently going on within politics and climate change, the siren will act like a reminder of war and that it is happening right now, such as the conflict in Syria.
Extinction Rebellion: Air Raid Sirens
The Extinction Rebellion group in Haringey used air raid sirens during a protest, they captioned the video 'Check out the spooky air raid siren noise; very unnerving. Emotional. Chilling. A call to action. Emergency.'
Experimenting with Sound Recording: Unedited Sounds
Hand-Held Siren
An element of my piece 'Hereafter' shown at the interim show was a hand-held siren for viewers to interact with. According to the company that I purchased it from, many families who live in areas that frequently experience extreme weather and natural disasters have these in their home. They are used to warn members of their household and neighbours to find shelter or evacuate in the event of a hurricane, for example. This way of using a siren really worked alongside my sculptures as the abrupt sound would cause disruption and a feeling of unease for people nearby.
Hildegard Westerkamp: Beneath the Forest Floor
Westerkamp's 'Beneath the Forest Floor' is a composition made up of wildlife recordings experienced in the old-growth forests of British Columbia. The way that Westerkamp uses wildlife sounds to remind listeners of the wildlife that we are gradually losing in such areas resonates with the way that I used sound archives of birds caught in storms as part of my Interim Show installation. I wanted to remind people that it is not just people who will suffer due to climate change and that our wildlife is already dealing with the effects of this.