Last week we had a forest listening lab at Science Gallery London.

This was part of Pulse of the Planet, which we had over 1000 participants joining over the course of the night.

As well as our listening lab there were film screenings, spellcasting, tarot and music. This included a screening of Julianknxx’s Black Corporeal (Breathing by Numbers) - and accompanying panel discussion.

The booklet for the forestscapes listening lab can be found here. The blurb from this is copied below, together with some pictures.

The forestscapes project examines how soundscaping can surface different ways of knowing, imagining and experiencing forests.

As part of this project we are developing generative arts-based methods for recomposing collections of sound materials to support collective inquiry into forests as living cultural landscapes.

At the listening lab, we are using supercollider for live algorithmic recomposition of collections of forest related sounds - including field recordings from forest research and restoration projects, as well as sounds associated with forest sites and forest issues on online platforms, such as YouTube and TikTok.

In contrast to listening as individual immersion in curated recreations of nature, the lab explores listening as a collective practice of unsettling and reconsidering nature-culture relations and how ecologies are mediatised, commodified, laundered and contested.

Thanks to all who took and sent us pictures from the event - including JY Mak, George Torode, Marlies Barendrecht, Thais Lobo and Photini Vrikki. If you took some, we’d love to see them!