A new audiovisual installation by a University of Liverpool lecturer is currently on display at the Wordsworth Museum and Gallery in Grasmere, Cumbria.
The installation, entitled Undistinguishable Motion, produced by the School of Music‘s Dr Robert Strachan, combines an original electronic sound composition with film and reactive digital media, and was created in collaboration with visual artist Sam Wiehl.
Inspired by Wordsworth’s rich descriptions of sound in Book One of the Prelude, the audiovisual piece uses sound and image to explore themes of memory, sound and landscape.
The installation contributes to the Their Colours and their Forms exhibition. The exhibition includes sculpture, fine art, poetry, and calligraphy all created in response to Wordsworth’s life and poetry and the manuscripts of William and Dorothy Wordsworth displayed in the Museum. All of the artworks have been specially conceived for the exhibition, including works by the major British poet David Harsent, the sculptor Brian Thompson and several other prominent artists.
Dr Strachan said: “This has been a very exciting project to be involved with. The piece uses audio field recordings and film captured on location in Wordsworth’s native Lake District in an evolving artwork.
“Wordsworth’s poetic landscape was full of echo and reverberation and this is something we’ve taken as a central core of the piece. The work progresses from four distinct sonic echoes each of which go off in different and sometimes unexpected directions.”
Their Colours and their Forms is on show at the Wordsworth Museum and Gallery, Grasmere and runs until the March 10.