TRANSMISSION—CARRIER
2022Commissioned by Whitstable Biennale
Sound (61min), listened to on a boat journey on the Thames Estuary, which journeyed to the Maunsell Forts and the Kentish Flats offshore wind farm.
Sound design with Alex Batchelor
Press: Frieze
Photo: Rob Harris
TRANSMISSION—CARRIER was a site-specific sound work commissioned by Whitstable Biennale. This piece carried people on a 1 hour long boat journey into the Thames Estuary, to explore the history of energy sources and flow of global capital around the Estuary through field recordings, manipulated sounds and voice. The boat trip traversed the audience to the Kentish Flats offshore wind farm and the Red Sands sea forts. Histories are collided with the present day through my research on trade, communication, distribution devices, translation, territory, value, and ownership on this sonic journey. I played with capturing the wind’s textural materiality and sought to harness it as a sonic element through field recordings, experimental sounds and a narrative voice to capture the imagined and the inaudible. Through my sound recordings, TRANSMISSION—CARRIER zoomed into the powerful, unpredictable nature of the wind, omnipresent through these expanses and histories. Whitstable is situated at the entrance of the Thames Estuary trade route, a reminder that imperialism and international trade were first enabled by sailing boats utilising the power of the wind. Today, wind farms capture this same resource for another purpose, to generate energy for use here and abroad in homes.
Photo: Rob Harris
Photo: Sarah Ainslie