Nova Scotia Soundmap (45°14'38"N 63°31'35"W) is a sculpture that I created as a part of the inaugural exhibition at the SUB TEI Galerie in Berlin, Germany. The work consists of a 50cm x 50cm map of a Nova Scotia riverbank with 6-channel audio of the sounds that may be found in that same area. Together, the audio and visual create a 1:1 map of the site.
I visited the site in Nova Scotia at the beginning of June 2018. I photographed and measured the site, then explored it to find all of the potential sounds. To me, creating a 1:1 map feels like an act of exploration, probing for hidden secrets and details. It is also an act of destruction: after carefully documenting the undisturbed visuals of the site, I explored it with my ears and with my hands. I dug up rocks, felt through the mud, and pulled on grasses in order to find as many of the potential sounds of the site as possible. Though I replaced what material I could, the act of finding these sounds irreparably altered the site.