Reflections on an Artist Residency Collaboration – Theo Tomking

Throughout the project, Julia and myself have looked toward each other’s areas of expertise for inspiration: Julia as sound artist and myself as historian. When we first met I was blown away by Julia’s immense understanding of the world of electroacoustics. Observing the ways sound recordings can be manipulated and composed through software programs like Audacity opened my ears to the emotional and sensory possibilities of sound as a storytelling medium. Armed with a H2 Zoom audio recorder, I documented some inspiring conversations with academics, practitioners and community workers, as well as a range of soundscapes; from a backyard garden in York to November rains on the Caribbean island of Trinidad whilst on a research trip. The idea of sound as a way of “being with” rather than “looking at” captured my imagination throughout the process.

My PhD research into the history of soil science and development also fed into the direction of the project. When thinking about how to conceptualize the narrative of the composition, for example, we came up with analogies from the world of soils. We conceptualized the composition as a soil survey, with each chapter digging down to explore the rich complexity of a particular theme just as scientists might observe the horizons of soil profiles in the ‘field’. The captivating realm of soils took our composition in unpredicted directions. 

Growing Stories for Different Climates was always intended to be as much about the final composition as it was about the process of collaboration. I hope audiences find the composition as thought-provoking and immersive as it was to create.