Sounds of Silence

This is an ongoing, experimental body of work rooted in Arctic and remote environments, first developed during my circumnavigation of Svalbard and continued through field recordings in Fleinvaer, Norway.

In Svalbard I recorded from the sea and under the ice during the circumnavigation, where I became aware that what appears still is anything but. Glaciers fracture and shift, sea ice moves continuously, and beneath it all there is constant underwater activity. I also recorded belugas moving through the ice — encounters that reinforced how present and active these environments are, even when they appear empty.

This work continued in Fleinvaer, an archipelago known for its silence and isolation, where I used a Zoom 360 recorder to listen over extended periods. Wind, water, birds, and spatial resonance become the dominant material. Even here, distant human presence persists at the edges — aircraft, boats, and industrial hums that interrupt any idea of pure quiet.

The work remains in development. I am exploring how to move these recordings beyond documentation into immersive sound environments, while continuing to learn the technical processes required to fully realise and shape the work.This is a work in progress: first learning how to record, and now figuring out how to shape the material into something more than files on a hard drive. I’m trying not to let them just fall into the never-ending abyss of unfinished work on my laptop. What I want most is to find ways of weaving these recordings into immersive soundscapes, where audiences can experience for themselves that once you quiet yourself and listen, nature — like the world itself — is never really silent.