The Sound that Constitute, Surround, and Surpass Us
Digital composition
VLF antenna, piezo microphone, hydrophone
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The work is the composition of a series of listening materials from the world of movement, transportation, with its multifaceted landscapes of land, ocean, and sky, embodies the spirit of adventure. This piece delves into the intricate web of public transportation, a catalyst for human travel and migration, often overlooked in the fabric of daily life. Beneath its surface lies a world of invisible networks and wireless signals, the conduits of information that sustain our journeys.
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Public transportation creates the trend of human travel and migration with intention and destination. It is often seen as an ordinary part of daily life in the realm of transport, with the underlying rules of societal functioning frequently overlooked. These essential rules are comprised of invisible networks and wireless signals that exchange information through language and audio. Due to its exclusiveness, the transmission of this information that supports human activities is typically carried out by only some certain operators.
These signals are managed by the system of global wired or wireless transmitters, including VLF (Very Low Frequency) messages, radio communication, radar signals for maritime transport – these are systems that operate beneath the surface.
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I look into the Anthorn Radio Station located in North England, the closest VLF station from London. It has the job of receiving aircraft fresh from manufacturers. The base continued to operate from Anthorn following the end of the Second World War. The VLF transmitter is used primarily for transmitting orders to submarines on 19.6 kHz. Its callsign is GQD. VLF transmissions are relatively unaffected by atmospheric nuclear explosions and Anthorn was once part of the link between Fylingdales early warning radar, North Yorkshire, and the United States' air defence system.
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VLF — having been found to interact with particles in space, transmitted from ground stations at huge powers to communicate with submarines deep in the ocean — the system operated by the mighty, while its existence inherent in the natural world which human being lives in and could have access to.
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I set up the antenna for collecting VLF signals on a open rooftop, so that the sound of this type of communication from miles away can be caught at a place as intimate as home.
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I utilize the way people hack and collect the sound and signals from VLF stations and submarine environments. By setting up antenna, detecting the vibration of rails on underground and placing hydrophone into rivers, the methods for collecting these sounds are diverse and multidimensional. This sonic piece follows the travel route from a daily living spot to the out-of-urban radio station, gathering and integrate the dimensions of frequencies. In this auditory voyage, we become voyagers of hidden realms, pushing the boundaries of perception and the quest for the unseen, all through the act of detecting.
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