Aerial/Sparks :: New Reports on Waves

Our garden concept makes reference to Scottish engineer John Scott Russell’s famous practical and theoretical investigations on waves and their effects on ship construction. Scott Russell discovered the “wave of translation” (giving birth to the modern study of solitons) which he described in his “Report on Waves” and developed the wave-line system of ship construction.
New Reports on Waves becomes a thematic link to the nature of waves, both watery and sonic, and how they impact on our connections to marine nature, distance, technology and empathy.
The rugged beauty of Inis Oírr, the smallest of the Aran Islands and with a deep-rooted maritime culture, is the physical setting for Aerial/Sparks from 11-27 September, with sound works housed in different locations across the island.
Each work explores relations between people and places, including the visible and invisible connectors of ocean and landscape. These sonic presentations ask us how sound and radio communication might trigger a deeper sense of empathy for our environments and ourselves. As we move into a future of uncertain intimacy, how can we grow meaningful connections at a distance?