SoundHide SPILL 2016
The SoundHide reveals natural sounds to people that they might miss because they aren’t there when they happen, usually early in the morning, or at night, or a different season, so it becomes a kind of time machine. Ipswich and the surrounding area has so many parks and wild spaces to explore in this way that I thought it would be good to bring these into SoundHide; spatial as well as time travel. I decided to go to a variety of sites around Ipswich and beyond, at various different times of day and throughout the season, making recordings for SoundHide.
The sounds for SoundHide-Ipswich include the dawn chorus in Christchurch park, and the Nightingales and the evening chorus in the Orwell Country Park. I also have recordings from Chantry Park, Purdis Heath, Stoke Park and Holywells Park. With the estuary, I found it difficult to get good recordings, as the Orwell Bridge enables traffic to dominate the soundscape so I have gone further afield for these recordings; the birds and the soundscape are much the same but without the traffic. There are underwater recordings and bats too.
The learning classroom in Christchurch Park is almost perfect as a space*. I love the setting in the glade above the ‘wilderness’ area with its curving path inviting you in. I have softened the space, deadened the acoustics and provided smells and touch sensations with straw bales to create a den.
SoundHide is really about giving you an excuse to sit still and listen. To feel safe and secure in a space that it is good to pause in, meditating on the sounds of the natural world around us.
These quotes are from the visitors book from the SoundHide I made last year on the Waveney:
“A haven of calm and connection with nature. I came in wondering if I had time for this! Says it all about modern life. I thank you.”
“should be available on prescription”
Mike Challis
*sadly this hut has burnt down in 2017