This new audio work by Jayne Dent is written to accompany the listener through liminal spaces, actively encouraging the interruption of sounds and impressions from the environment around the listener to ‘finish assembling’ the piece: you are invited to take it for a walk.

It embraces zoning out and distraction as much as it encourages us to notice things more vividly, the traffic, birds and other environmental sounds and sights that greet us at the bus stop or on our walks. It is constructed of almost entirely digital sounds, with synthesised orchestral instruments as well as artificial static and synthesisers. The only organic sound we hear is the voice, which comes with layers of digital distortion and texture embedded within it, acting as the bridge between the listeners environment and the digital augmented reality space.

The piece is in part inspired by the practice of building grottos and follies; superficial and decorative buildings and augmentations to the landscape by wealthy landowners which give the illusion of a history that is not present, sometimes already built in a romantic ‘ruined’ state. It is inspired too by tales of defiance of trespass laws, roaming and rambling and the importance of reclaiming common land for public use.

The audio work is accompanied by a lino print which acts as both a graphic performance score and word-cloud, titled “Augmented reality part one (part two is around you)”. 

Commissioned by Monkfish Productions