Hybrid Soundscapes

Hybrid Soundscapes is a multi-component body of outputs investigating acoustic ecology. It is comprised of sound installation, an album, participatory community engagement activities and peer-reviewed publications.The output was the outcome of three years of practice-led research into the impact of renewable energy technology on rural and natural landscapes. O Keeffe investigated four sites where new types of renewable energies have had an impact on natural landscapes: the southern region of Iceland, the Northern Terra Alta region of Spain, Barrow-in-Furness in the UK and Beijing, China. The research also investigated graphic composition as a mode of mapping sensory, social and ecological sonic experiences over time. The research employed different methodologies including retreats in natural landscapes, participatory listening workshops with local communities and documentary research. Hybrid Soundscapes was commissioned by the curator Christine Eyene in 2016 (curator of the 2019 Moroccan Biennale) for a touring exhibition titled Sounds Like Her that would for the first time present established women artists who have expanded the field of sound art. For the exhibition, O Keeffe presented four large printed graphic scores/sound maps and an immersive audio composition for five speakers. The scores comprised photographic images and drawings of the sites in which O Keeffe conducted field research. The audio composition functioned both as a single immersive audio work and a spatialised site-specific performance. Hybrid Soundscapes I–IV was first presented in the exhibition Sounds Like Her at the New Art Exchange, Nottingham, 13 October 2017 – 3 January 2018. Subsequent exhibition presentations included: York Art Gallery, 12 July – 25 August 2019, and Gallery Oldham, 14 December 2019 – 7 March 2020.