Resonant Place, Winsford focuses on our connection to place and the sonic legacy of functional spaces.
All enclosed spaces have resonant frequencies: specific notes that are naturally amplified by the environment. These frequencies can make the air feel alive, as if the space is excited to hear its favourite sounds! By singing these frequencies, we can forge a physical connection to a space through the invisible force of the sound we create with our own bodies.
The size, structure, unique architecture, objects, and people within a space all influence the specific frequencies it will naturally amplify. Resonant Place, Winsford is an exploration of sound-making and the physical feeling of discovering these natural resonances.
Building on this physical resonance, the project also explores the sonic history of these functional spaces. The artist worked with students from Oaklands School, Winsford, to compose sounds in direct response to the human activities that currently take place, or historically took place, within them. This acoustic exploration was conducted across five distinct locations: the Oaklands School Sports Hall, the Winsford Library Dance Studio/Meeting Room, St. Chad’s Church, the A54 underpass near the library, and the Winsford Council Chambers.
In three of these locations, the artist and students created “sound prints”—impressions of surfaces and objects within the space. These artworks capture the very surfaces that reflect sound and shape the space’s unique resonances. The resulting collection was bound into three Resonant Place books. The audio associated with these prints has been incorporated into the final visual soundscape artwork.
