By the Sound of Things: Documentation

Taking place Fri 11 – Sun 13 July 2021 on board the Daniel Adamson, By the Sound of Things by artist Kate Davies married the immediate environment of Manchester Ship Canal’s passing industry and surrounding ecology with an urgent call to action – exploring the impact of man-made ship noise on marine life.

A container ship passes as we present Kate Davies’ By the Sound of Things onboard @dannyinsteam – an immersive experience exploring the impact of the shipping industry above and below water. #AND21 pic.twitter.com/BWrXEbx2C3

— Abandon Normal Devices (@ANDfestival) July 10, 2021

Passengers experienced an ambient sound piece below decks; submerged in darkness, we were guided down to the bottom of the ocean by a personified shipping container, passing ocean life and activity as we sunk deeper and deeper. Davies’ binaural sound work was accompanied by a short film, which presented a collision of the extraordinary and the banal that defines the image of global sea trade. This work was presented on the deck of one of the last surviving Manchester Ship Canal tugs, against the backdrop of past and present industrial scars in the North West. By the Sound of Things used the ever-evolving environment of canal banks to transform the cruise into a multi-layered, multi-sensorial environment, making it a classic Abandon Normal Devices experience.

Did you know that a whale’s hearing is so sensitive it can hear a passing ship over a day away? Accompanying the event, AND Festival hosted an in-conversation with artist Kate Davies and marine biologist Prof. Steve Simpson, exploring a more in-depth, scientific perspective on how humanity has greatly impacted marine life, and how we can find hope from the research being undertaken by marine biologists like Simpson all over the world.

By the Sound of Things by Kate Davies is commissioned and produced by Abandon Normal Devices. Supported using public funding by Arts Council England with further support from The Daniel Adamson Preservation Society, Portico: Portsmouth’s Cargo Terminal, and Maritime Digital Hub. Special thanks to Professor Steve Simpson, University of Exeter, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, and Marta Bolgan PhD.

Sound Design: Chris Timpson of Aurelia Soundworks, Voice: Jess Gunning, Host: Peader Kirk, Producer: Tricia Coleman, Production Manager: David Berger, Technical Operator: Jake Goouge

By the Sound of Things: Sound

Contributors: Andrew Bass, Department of Neurobiology and Behaviour, Cornell University; Daniel Birch; Marta Bolgan PhD; Sarika Cullis-Suzuki; Isla Davidson; Tim Gordon; Gordon Drummond Hastie, University of St Andrews; Thomas R. Kieckhefer; James Locascio and David Mann, University of South Florida College of Marine Science; Dr. Sue Lowerre-Barbieri, University of Florida; Rob McCauley; Eric Parmentier; Paul Perkins, NUWC Engineering; Shelia Patek; Graig A. Radford, University of Auckland; Prof. Steve Simpson; Aarhus University; Discovery of Sound in the Sea (DOSITS) from University of Rhode Island Ocean &  Inner Space Center (ISC); Sonatech; Voices in the Sea, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego; Watkins Marine Mammal Sound Database, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

By the Sound of Things: Film

Filmed by Kate Davies on location with Unknown Fields, aboard cargo ships with Maersk and CMA CGM, in ports in Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan & Korea. Thanks to Dan Cross for additional footage in Liverpool.