Abstract
Sound, time and self, moving through the aural landscape explores the interactions of perceptions of sound to the notion of silence, the heard and not-heard, as dynamic relations that influence the space of sound.
In a quest to encounter silence and understand the relationships formed by the body, sound and space, I have used both an anechoic chamber where silence is recorded only as a measurement of self and lookedbelow the surface of the earth where the usual criteria that measure time such as sun, moon, temperature and everyday routines of human and animal, are rendered ineffective. Underground, sound comes from within one’s own body often accompanied by the sound of dripping water. While sound is durational, so the time water takes to percolate underground bears no relation to the hearing of its happening above ground. A drop of rain on the surface may take 1 minute, 1 year or a thousand years to reach a particular point underground, gathering as it does, fragments of rock and dust causing the chemical reactions that result in stalagmites and stalactites. Thus, the measurement of time can be seen as only relevant to the constructed world. Applying this to sound, the duration of a sonic experience is directly related to the trajectory of the body only in so far as to its mechanical nature. It can be said that sound relates to our perception of the space of our daily lives and also our experiences within and without that space. Silence is included as a composite part of that sonic experience which brings with it ideas of time and also flow.
Therefore, my argument is that the construct of time, closely linked to the routines of our daily life, becomes an anomaly when experienced in the space of underground and constructed silent spaces. This indicates that the intricate layering of sound, human experience and space is directly related to the moment and creates a sonic landscape governed by natural and unnatural events.
https://soundcloud.com/chris-a-wright-917928995