Soundings
Soundings is an installation exploring the intersection of art, emotion, technology and law. Created by Dr. Shane Burke (Cardiff Law School) and Joy Twemlow (Durham Law School), it was first showcased in Sydney, Australia in December 2024 as part of the Hacking Visual Culture Conference, this sound artwork focuses on the interface between the sonic, spatiality and the feeling of alienation in the context of the legal. Inspired by the ‘Time Piece’ works of Max Neuhaus, this interdisciplinary piece involves the manipulation of sound recordings taken in several legal locations across Wales. These included the Cardiff Crown Court, Senedd Cmyru (Welsh Parliament), Cardiff Law School, and the Speakeasy Legal Advice Centre. The sound recordings were subsequently manipulated through a combination of both AI technologies and human inputs. Through immersive sound installation, Soundings intends to highlight the spatial alienation engendered by many legal environments and the fact that this is exacerbated by how sound is experienced therein.
The installation is motivated by an interest in exploring how sound art, and the emotional responses they garner, can be a starting point for critical exploration of legal phenomena. In this way, soundings builds on the contemporary discussions surrounding the methodological possibilities of the ‘sonic turn’ combined with phenomenological insights about the role the body plays in grounding a sense of belonging-in-space. In our showcasing of the installation in Sydney, the artwork was coupled with a focus group inviting reflections on experiences of legal alienation. The responses from this discussion illustrated how art, specifically sonic art, represents an innovative practical approach for opening up discussion surrounding emotion and the law.
