Exchange is a composition made entirely from a field recording made inside the exhibition space on the 8th October 2020. With the inside of the building being quiet, sound from outside could be heard reverberating in the empty space of the room. Short samples were made of a variety of events from the original recording to be used as source sounds. MIDI data extracted from Concept City’s ‘UAX13 Telephone Exchange’ YouTube video provided musical notes for the composition. Audio processing mimics the aesthetic of telephony.
To remove any physical manifestation of, or cumbersome access point to, the work, the sound is accessed via a (mobile) telephone by dialling the number on the floor of the space where the microphone was positioned, with the pieces saved as a ‘recorded message’. Audience members can use their own headphones to hear the work, isolating themselves from the space but connecting to it through an exchange.
Stuart’s sound works respond to people, places and objects with site specific installations and performance at locations including Focal Point Gallery (Southend), Fuse Gallery (Bradford), Banff New Media Institute (Canada), Landguard Fort (Felixstowe), Union Chapel (London), Council Offices (Basildon), Public Library (Harlow) and Boat House Gallery (National Trust, Flatford).
Instagram: @stuartbowditch