Sonic Tapestry, a performance by Chris Wright and Melanie Wheeler; audio trail by Chris Wright with contributions by the people of Melbourne, Derbyshire. This work wascommissioned by Melbourne Arts and facilitated by The Making Way with Melanie Wheeler and additional words by Rebecca Goldsmith. Funded by The East Midlands Airport Community Fund. Photograph by Michael Hobson.
Sounds can be heard in sound and video link in navigation bar
Sonic Tapestry Audio Tour by Chris A. Wright with poem Grasp by Rebecca Goldsmith
There are five installations that, together with your own listening, create a audio tour. Each installation plays for a few minutes, interspersed with silence. In addition, you can hear Rebecca Goldsmith’s work, accessed through QR codes, in the following locations – Pooled at the Assembly Rooms, Cast at the Market Place, Caught at the Hall Courtyard and Coda in the Castle Square.
Beginning at the Pop-up Gallery where the films of Rebecca Goldsmith and Chris Wright can be seen, turn left from the door and then right up the hill towards the Assembly Rooms where you can access Pooled. On the left outside the locked park gates is a bird box which emits the sounds of birds, children and dogs barking trying to bring the park to life again. Going back down the hill to the market place where the bus stops, a QR code can be accessed. This takes you on a walk and includes the raucous sound of bottles being dropped into the bottle bank, a phone ringing, ambient sounds of shops and cafes to create an audio collage of the town. Rebecca’s work Cast can also be seen in this location. Carrying on down the hill, a second bird box by the road in front of the Garden Shed relays tales from allotment holders, what they grow and how it has been during lockdown. In the courtyard of Melbourne Hall, four lanterns hold different voices of Melbourne people and their stories including violinist, Peter Rose, playing The Flower of County Down. In the courtyard, Caught can be seen. Turning right out of the gates of the courtyard, along Castle Street to the old market place, Castle Square, now a car park there is a box on the market cross, a collage of sounds from the new Thursday market tries to re-populate this old market space. Alongside, Coda is to be seen.
Returning to the gallery by walking up Potter Street creates a circular tour and a request for you to listen yourselves to the sounds around you, they are not always what you expect.