MOMENTS OF DEGRADATION

Moments of Degradation (2024) is an interactive, immersive installation composed of three mediums, manufacturing a manmade ‘natural’ environment. Primarily, this is a sound installation made up of recordings gathered throughout the New Forest and many specifically in a tunnel near Setthorn Wood, between 1st - 16th November 2023. These recordings are a combination of ecological and man made sounds. The sculptural element of the installation - compost, soil and plastic litter - reflects the forest floor. The video element was produced using a light shining through pieces of melted plastic, to mimic a green and natural canopy. 

 

This piece focuses on the relationship between human intervention and the natural environment. Through a curated and composed space that has been created through sound, touch, and visual elements, the action of intervention, intentional and unintentional, is proposed. Human made sound intervenes throughout even the quietest spots in the forest, disturbing the ecological soundscape, either through intentional or unintentional acts. Physical intervention appears in the same way from forestry to fly tipping. The aim of this installation is to question how the intentionality of human action impacts the forest, through sound pollution, physical waste and their disruptive potential, while also considering necessary intervention to cultivate and protect our relationship to the rich social history and environmental diversity of the New Forest. 

 

Please move around the space, immersing yourself in the four soundscapes (Water, Machinery, Movement, Voice) while bathing in the green plastic glow and feeling the soil between your fingers. 

 

For this residency I was inspired by the ecological soundworks of David Monacchi and by Bryce Stratford’s New Forest Myths and Folklore (2022). 

 

WIth thanks to:

spudWORKS, particularly Mark Drury and Tom Hall. 

Robbie – for sharing all his wisdom and stories. 

Alex Julyan for her mentorship throughout my first residency.

The New Forest National Park Authority for supporting this initiative.