Abandoned Yorkshire
2nd - 5th November 2016
Photographic Exhibition
"Place is security, space is freedom."
Welcome to the final exhibition in our series exploring the theme of space and place.
In the spring, four artists explored the theme by making site-specific work during a residency at Left Bank Leeds. During the summer, we exhibited per-existing works by 20 artists, all of which were closely connected to the theme of space and place.
Now, drawing this series to a dramatic close, we are featuring the work of the photography collective Abandoned Yorkshire. Alongside their photography, we are also showcasing work by guest photographers who responded to our open call-out for submissions and a sound piece by Bob Birch. The sound piece uses sounds recorded at Left Bank Leeds and has been composed specifically for the space.
In an era of change and development, it’s easy to overlook buildings that are no longer in use but these remains give us an insight into the past. In their prime these would have been significant landmarks housing the latest in medical innovation, places of employment, picture houses, grand homes and more. Many of these buildings will be reclaimed by nature or demolished and when they’re gone these images will be all that remains, providing a visual record of these spaces. Forced to operate covertly, one day in the future these urban explorers will be valued like historians.
Having spent so much time at Left Bank during the Space and Place artist residency, I had a good idea about how to approach this project. During the residency I had time to experiment with different speakers and positions which I used to 'light up' areas within the building - my aim was to enrich the experience of being in Left Bank using sound, to bring attention to areas that are often overlooked. Performance was also part of that exhibition - I used live musicians in combination with recordings as part of the work. In this project the focus needed to be on the photographs, and the sound sources would be invisible.
The piece was made over one night in Left Bank after the photographs were on display. I spend some time wandering among the images, trying to gain some inspiration and waiting for the external traffic noise to die down. I used a four channel (quad) arrangement by using two PA systems which I hid behind furniture and screens. I wanted the sound to be perceived as coming from the building itself, not from point sources, so I angled the top part of each speaker upwards, thereby reflecting some of the sounds from the ceiling and arches. Once the system was working, I began experimenting with different sounds - mainly ones I created using a modular synthesiser. With this it is possible to sculpt a massive range of sounds from gentle rhythmic patterns to raw and powerful pulses. The multichannel system allowed me to shift the output of the synthsiser to different areas of the building, which emphasised aspects of the sound as it resonated within the different areas. When I was happy with the sound and it's movement I recorded this into a computer and began to layer sounds. As well as making sounds from scratch using the analogue synthesiser I also used 'found sounds' from within the building - the creaky door at the entrance to the upper levels produced an amazing bass frequency which I recorded and layered with other sounds in part of the piece.
The links below will play audio recorded from the Left Bank using a Soundfield microphone. This microphone records four channels of audio (known as B format) and allows spatial recordings to be made, which can be processed later in a variety of ways. The recordings are binaural, meaning that they can be listen to with speakers, but it better experience using headphones. The original piece is 45 minutes long, so I've included three extracts to give you an impression of the complete recording...or you can hear the complete recording from the link at the bottom (it may take a minute to buffer!)