Free event
David Vélez hydrophones and geophones / electroacoustic transducers / discarded and found materials
David Vélez (Colombia, 1973)
The Calder in your Bones (2023)
Join sonic artist David Vélez on a tour of The Calder in your Bones, his new sound installation made with industrial duct, fur and electroacoustic bone transducers. The piece aims to draw attention towards the health of the River Calder, which is the principal fluvial source for farms in the Calderdale and Kirklees boroughs. Today, the Calder is subjected to substantial sewage leaks, making it England’s second most polluted river. This problem can be solved if the contaminating water firms take action to sustain the river’s wellbeing, which, as researchers and activists emphatically point out, they are currently failing to do. As such, this installation also takes an explicitly activist stance. The form of the installation creates a bodily bonding experience with the river through the vibration of its sounds. Through this immersive sensory experience we can acknowledge water as a nourishing presence inside our bodies, and thus our connectedness with the wellbeing of our local waterways. Extensive underwater and subterranean recordings were made of the River Calder using a hydrophone and a geophone to emphasise the vibrating biodiversity of the site, including earthworms, snails, slugs, frogs, toads, newts, fishes, and an enormous variety of plants, among other ‘sounding species’.
David Vélez is a sonic artist investigating the acoustics of horticulture and the sensibility of plants and their ecosystems to sound. His work is interdisciplinary, implementing technologies from bioacoustics, geoacoustics, ethnography and food anthropology to advance ecological and socially engaged projects. David centres his work on musical synthesis, electroacoustic transduction and underground and subaquatic recording.
Produced by hcmf// in partnership with Cultures of Sound as part of The Current Climate
Photo: © David Vélez
Getting There
Venue: Bath House Gallery, Sovereign Design House
Address: England, HD1 3DR, United Kingdom.