SOUNDPIT

Commission

Di was awarded Artist in Residence for Manchester’s European City of Science 2016. Curious about the phenomena of synaesthesia, a sensation in one of the senses that triggers a sensation in another, Di wanted to see if she could create a machine that would allow people to see and touch sound as well as hear it.

Di assembled a team of neuroscientists, coders and musicians and set up a Live-Lab to test ideas and create the first prototype. The team ran collaborative workshops at the National Science and Media Museum with people from Delius Special School, Specialist Autism Services, Mind the Gap and St Philips CE Academy. The final work, Soundpit, was displayed as an immersive installation at Salford Science Jam as part of Manchester Science Festival. It was then included in the National Science and Media Museum’s Supersenses Exhibit, curated by John O’Shea, alongside other digital installations by Marshmallow Laser Feast, Zane Berzina and Noise Orchestra.

In 2019, Di was commissioned by Southbank Centre to present Soundpit in the Royal Festival Hall. The installation was a huge success and enjoyed a sellout run, returning by popular demand in early 2020.

Experience

Participants are invited to play in giant sandpits illuminated by beautiful graphics, creating music with their own movements. Through play, children and adults explore their individual sense of sound, vision and touch, becoming the composer of their own masterpiece. Soundpit has an extremely wide appeal, from those interested in art and music, to those who simply enjoy sensory play. It is a fun, interactive and stimulating experience.

Soundpit uses a specially commissioned sound palate by musicians The Architects of Rosslyn. Sound, visuals and motion capture technology have been brought together by creative technologist Paul Miller in collaboration with game designers Shi and Kriss Blank.