Sonic Landscapes is a participatory project exploring the visualisation of sound through mark making. This work was created during my virtual artist-in-residence at BasementArtsProject in Leeds (2021).

I invited participants to make drawings of the sounds they could hear around them and an audio recording from the same location. I asked participants to tune into details in the sonic environment; textures, rhythms and qualities of the sounds, and to transcribe what they heard onto paper using a variety of marks.

I used the drawings to create a digital collage, connecting and layering the drawings at points where lines could join on to other lines, thereby creating a continuous flow around the whole image. I wanted the piece to resemble a map, of sorts, where the textures and details in the drawing could resemble geographical features.

I then used the collage as a score from which to create an audio piece using the audio recordings. This accompanying soundtrack takes the viewer on a journey around the map. Some of the audio clips are unedited, some are modified, and some details in the recordings have been used to create rhythms and melodies. It leaves space for ambiguity, inviting the viewer to wonder where they might be in this imaginary landscape.

Finally, to take this project further, I developed a live version of the sound piece with looping samples that I could trigger and effects that I could manipulate while on stage.

Sonic Landscape audio-visual collage

Click, drag and zoom into the image to view the details.

Click the player below to hear the audio.