Beyond
for 40 channel geodesic sphere • 2014+
OVERVIEW • RESEARCH • DEVELOPMENT • DOCUMENTATION: white | willow | fire • AUDIO |
Beyond is multichannel installation produced in collaboration with visual artist Ian Bilson. Consisting of a spherical geodesic structure and containing 40 loud speakers, it builds on research conducted for Dome (2012) and its raison d'etre is similar: the speakers are conceived collectively as a single sound-producing unit, accommodating the detailed spatial construction of sonic images over the surfaces of the domes.
As with Dome, the structure of the installation is designed to be unenclosed and thus acoustically transparent, enabling a listener within to experience the soundscape beyond the playing loudspeakers (ideally a park or other outdoor public space) as an extension of that presented by the constructed speaker-space itself; indeed, sounds from loudspeakers may be indistinguishable from those coming from beyond. Thus, while the sphere provides a sense of enclosure and safety, it is paradoxically designed to encourage a much wider awareness of space (and place), affording the listener an experience akin to Mallarmé’s notion of ‘transparent prolongation’: a listening-through of the constructed land(sound)scape into the already-there.
Different sound environments presented within the sphere, and different contexts in which it is presented, invite different 'skins'/facades for the structure. The aim was to make the structure sculpturally appealing—eye-catching and compelling—to encourage members of the public to explore it.
Beyond has been presented in a variety of locations with its various 'skins'/facades. For more information, follow the links below:
 |
Beyond: White (2014) is the most thematically 'neutral' of the Beyond series, and accommodates the widest variety of sounds across its surface. However, clad in textured pure white fabric, its resemblance to a virus prompts the exploration of organic, watery sounds in particular. |
 |
Beyond: Willow (2015) is closest to the 'ideal' Beyond form in being clad in willow and moss, and being presented in outdoor environments which invite the most exploration of the relationship between the sounds from 'within' and those from 'beyond', as experienced within the structure. |
 |
Beyond: Fire (2015) |