Digital audio, 40 mins
The internet is my gallery
Published 17 October 2018
“Listening to Silent Spring” is a piece of sound art, based on a listening walk around east Exeter on the 50th anniversary of publication of “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson. The sounds I noted became the script for the piece. The work is mostly silence, which allows the listener to become aware of their own ambient soundtrack.
You can listen via Youtube to “Listening to Silent Spring” above, and you are welcome to download it as an .mp3 file (23 Mb). The script is also available to download as a pdf, and the map of my route is below.
“Thank you so much for sending this. What an enjoyable 40 minutes that was! I’ve been promising myself more space in which to listen, and your piece has made it happen. I listened in my dining room. Builders are tapping tiles onto my neighbour’s new extension roof. I enjoyed my immobility and the consistency of my sonic environment and your mobility and changing of scene. A funny kind of guided meditation, in a way.” – EW
The wonderful Emma Welton is making some Sound Walks from her home in Exwick: “My sound walks are musical compositions: the choices I make shape a particular listening experience for somebody else. The sound walks are designed to print on one sheet of A4. Sound walks are best done alone, or in the company of a quiet friend.”