In a garden in Bloomsbury an interactive
sound sculpture is using the movements of pedestrians to evoke the ghost of a
lost iron fence. The railings at Malet
St Gardens were removed during the 1940s as part of a wartime initiative to democratize
parks and gardens – and never reinstated.
Using sensor-based acoustic devices, the installation makes evident the
absence of railings by creating a resemblance of the familiar sound produced by
running a stick along an iron fence.
Through enlivening the stumps of the railings,
the project engages with a centuries-old debate about public space and
accessibility. It aims to bring these subjects
into question, and to promote a critical awareness of the social and spatial
history of the city in a way that is innovative, entertaining and accessible to
all.
The project has been developed by public
interventions, an interdisciplinary collective working at the Centre for
Creative Collaboration (C4CC), University of London. It will remain on site until the 14 October.
for more information: http://publicinterventions.org/