2023

sonic footprints

"Sonic Footprints" is an investigative project that seeks to explore the impact of industrial sound emissions on the environment, viewing them as an ecological footprint. The investigation centers on the question of how mass-produced objects may interfere with ecosystems through the sounds that are generated during their manufacturing.
 
To examine this issue, the project focuses on the production of a PVC-toy-dolphin as a case study. Through field recordings obtained both in air and underwater, the complete sonic landscape of the toy's supply chain is captured, uncovering sound emissions that interfere with the habitat of real dolphins.The project takes into account the ultrasonic hearing range of dolphins, recognizing that sounds that are inaudible to humans may still impact them. As technology exists to bridge this perceptual gap, a debate on the agency of such technology opens up, since the information that such technology produces remains subjective to its design.

The culmination of the project is the creation of a vinyl record that hold engraved the toy-dolphin's sonic footprint. This record, made from the same material as the toy-dolphin, reproduce the sounds of its production both above and below water. The records serve as a tangible and enduring artifact of the project's exploration into the interconnectedness between mass-produced objects and ecosystems.
In search for the acoustic traces of the production of a toy dolphin, several fieldrecordings were collected. Both with a hydrophone as well as a stereo microphone, the supply chain of this product was captured acoustically both above as well as under water. 
Since sound has different properties under water than in air, the recording technology as well as it’s assesment differ quite a lot from classical atmospheric recordings. 

listen to the interview with Dagmar Kleemann about sonic footprints on Spotify:



the harbor of Rotterdam, where part of the fieldrecordings were collected
the atlantic ocean, where fieldrecordings were captured
capturing fieldrecordings with a hydrophone from the shore
recordings were both collected above as well as under water to juxtapose the two different soundscapes
refinery and PVC production. The absence of animal sounds in this space showcases the absecnce of life 
faders allowing visitors to compare both the soundscapes of underwater and air
exhibition during DDW 2023
exhibition design with soundproofing foam
subwoofers were specifically designed to play the low freqiencies of the recorded noise
two vinyls containing the soundscape of above and under water
hornspeaker setup designed for directional sound dispersion in the exhibition space
noise cancelling headphones allow listeners to listen to the recorded interviews while being exposed to the noise of the vinyl

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