Exhibitions
A self-guided soundwalk (#SoundWalk) in Carleton University’s tunnel system invites listeners to reflect on how sound shapes our perception of our environment (scroll to the bottom of the page for audio files).
As part of Andy Slater and Emily Cook’s fieldwork for Unknown Area, they explored the tunnels beneath Carleton University, navigating and documenting the space through touch and sound. This shaped many of the conceptual and material decisions in the resulting exhibition at CUAG.
They have chosen six locations in the tunnels, but with a twist: each stop plays a field recording from a different part of the campus. This deliberate mismatch invites listeners to reflect on how sound, memory and place become woven together. The hope is that the dislocation generates new appreciation for the acoustics of everyday space.
This sound walk acts as an introduction to blind listening practices, inviting all participants to tune into their environments as a method of orientation. By scrambling the relationship between map and sound, Slater and Cook suggest that attentive listening can be a powerful tool for navigating space. Whether following the provided recordings or wandering in silence, listeners are prompted to consider how they locate themselves in the world through sounds.
The sound walk is accessed via a QR code, with maps available in print and digital formats. It operates as a form of auditory augmented reality, recasting the physical world through the layering of sound. Many of the field recordings were activated using white canes, echo-location clickers, vocalizations and movement, bringing attention to the acoustic texture of the space through non-visual navigation.
Other campus sites also influenced the development of Unknown Area, including the Tory Building’s mosaic mural The Pilgrimage of Man (1962), by artist Gerald Trottier, and lecture hall known as “the Egg,” where recordings were made while it was under renovation. Other influences were the Living Wall in the Richcraft Hall and the Architecture Building, with its many concrete surfaces. These locations serve as points of contact with Carleton’s lived environment. By engaging with and sourcing field recordings from spaces across the campus that may be recognizable to students and staff, Slater and Cook embed a speculative audio narrative within the tunnels, inviting listeners to reflect on how sound shapes our perception of our environment.
Curated by
Emily Cook
Artists in the exhibition
Emily Cook and Andy Slater