A series of sound works constructed from hydrophone recordings
played inside sea shells

These pieces formed part of a three piece 'musical' suite that was installed in Hereford during the city's annual art festival h.Art. The sounds were played directly through hidden earpieces concealed within sea shells allowing visitors to pick up a shell and listen to the sounds of the sea contained therein.
The work is comprised of abstract electronic noises and hundreds of assimilated recordings taken from underwater hydrophones capturing everything from whales to torpedoes. These underwater recordings were then arranged and constructed to produce atmospheric effects. The idea of removing authorial control of the raw materials and placing it in the hands of the marine biologists who set up the recordings and the natural processes that produced the sounds/shells was an important motivation for the work. Listeners were not told what they were hearing and a typewriter was set up in front of the shells to allow speculation or the recording of reactions to the sound. This explored the idea of artistic authorial authority and placed the emphasis of meaning and interpretation upon the audience/participants who by typing their feelings and what they believed they were hearing upon the typewriter were then contributing to the work itself and in turn influencing subsequent participants.