Bath Spa University: Porthleven Prize

 

The Porthleven Prize offers 15 Bath Spa University students the rare opportunity to work collaboratively and produce work for a major exhibition. Students were selected to partake in a five-day residency to participate in workshops with leading academics. Seven of those students were then selected for a further fully-funded, twelve-day residency at the Porthleven Lifeboat Art Studio.

​

The prize winners were asked to respond to the theme "Provenance" - the place or source of origin. (1860–65; French, derivative of provenant, present participle of provenir; Latin prōvenīre to come forth; pro-, convene, -ant). Below is my individual response.

​

​

​

​

Echoes of Porthleven

 

What captured my interest was the unpredictable and inescapable nature of these sounds, which lead to a feeling of immersion in the moment. In focusing my attention on the soundscape, I became aware of other sensory experiences including physical vibration, light and movement. Echoes of Porthleven started with experimentation in replicating a selection of my field recordings using the physical movement of material through the air.

 

The filming of this performance formed the basis for the visual aspect of the piece, as well as being incorporated into the accompanying audio track. In post-production sections of the video were selected, reversed and slowed down to produce the abstract, fluid-like movements. The original sound recordings and the audio from the physical performance were combined to create a recognizable, but obscured coastal soundscape. The audio was then aligned to the visual movement to emphasize variations in speed, visual vibration and direction.

​

​

​