Kate Ogley

K a t e O g l e y

SWIRL Bude Sea Pool 2019

Interactive and participatory sound Installation in collaboration with artist Timothy Crowley, commissioned by Sound UK and part of REFLECT- ARTS AND MIND PROJECT.

'Memories do not arrange themselves to be observed and written about they whirl propelled by a force beneath with different memories rising to the surface at different times and thus denying the existence of a pure autobiography and confirming each moment a separate story accumulating to a million stories all different and with some memories forever staying beneath the surface.' Janet Frame 1983

Swirl is a generative and participatory sound composition that reflects on the nature of memory and identity and imagines the sea itself as a repository for stories for those who live beside it. The composition was located in a beach hut located above Bude's famous Sea Pool during Sound U.K's Reflect event.

Swirl was created with the use of a generative sound computer program written in Supercollider. The generative program was designed as a medium with which to relate stories of local people some with mental health issues who have shared their personal experiences and connection to the sea and the coastline.

Through the subtle manipulation of rhythm, volume, speed, pitch and timbre we wanted the composition of voices to evoke the sound of the ebb and flow of the waves. The program broke down all the recorded interviews into smaller bites of sound. At different moments longer strands of stories emerge out of this (as if cast up from the depths). These phrases were continually recombined and revised by the program.

As it played the generative sound composition simultaneously incorporated 'live' contributions from participants during the course of the Reflect event. The beach hut housed a microphone, a hidden computer and speakers. The wall of the hut was lined with the original transcripts of the interviews.

Swirl sound sample

An overview of the interviews reflecting on the variety of stories, memories and feelings that arose in participants when talking about their experience of living beside the ocean.

HOW DOES LIVING BY THE SEA MAKE YOU FEEL?

At REFLECT BUDE, step inside the Swirl beach hut to hear new interactive and generative sound installation by Cornish artists Timothy Crowley and Kate Ogley, created in response to the location and recorded experiences of those living in Bude and North Cornwall. Here Kate tells us about their experience interviewing and recording people for the project.

It has been a privilege for us to meet everyone and discover what it means for each person to live close to the sea and the coastline. We have interviewed people from many walks of life. The relationship with the sea for some participants spans an entire lifetime, for others it is one they returned to later in life or in some cases it’s a relationship that has been formed for the first time more recently.

Beautiful and powerful images of the sea have emerged from the interviews. For one interviewee the sea was likened to an open door; an invitation or perhaps a portal to another place or dimension. For another participant the sea was felt as an unbroken link between far away places bringing consolation and a feeling of connection with loved ones when overseas.

The sea was also experienced as a darker place of potential danger; large waves that might snatch young children away without warning, and a place where one might simply vanish and not come back. And yet for several people the sea’s uncaring and impervious nature offers them a great sense of freedom; the sea being an entity with no expectations or judgement. Reflecting on the interviews it became apparent that for many the sea embodied great contradictions.

For several participants the sounds of the surf heard at night, had almost imperceptively infiltrated into their consciousness over the years; becoming part of who they are. Some spoke of the comfort and reassurance this gave them. A sound that in some cases was felt most keenly in its absence when they moved away from the sea.

Several people spoke of the sound of the chaffing pebbles in the undertow when walking on the beach as one that they associated most strongly with the sea. One participant used alot of s sounding words , swimming, sloshing, surfing…… sounding a little like the sea itself.

Encounters with the sea are woven into the participants daily lives and in all cases these encounters give them something vital. The sea and coastline was revealed as a place that inspires inner reflection, as well as offering individuals solace, sanctuary or respite from other aspects of life.

Perhaps more surprisingly we discovered that the sea also provides some of the same inteviewees with a strong sense of community, and the chance to be involved with a variety of clubs and groups often offering immersive and exhilarating encounters with the ocean. Or a place to simply gather and have fun with family or friends. We were very struck by the powerful sense of belonging that many of the interviewees felt towards the sea as well as a sense of great pride in their surroundings.

t: 01736 369722 m: 07774 761973

e: [email protected]