Long Division – Salisbury Cathedral

Immersive sensory experience

Long Division is an immersive sensory experience inspired by the time in-between, as the light shifts from day to night.

As the clock chimes on the hour, a sequence of sixty hushed, spoken exchanges, timed to the divisions of the clock creates rhythmic speech patterns that send a wash of sound rippling around the walls. The sequence lasts one hour and merges into night, creating a unique sound installation for those seeking a stirring experience.

Long Division was originally commissioned by Oxford Contemporary Music and Oxford Botanic Garden in 2009. The original idea was devised by IOU’s Artistic Director David Wheeler, in collaboration with the writer and poet Louise Oliver and composer Dan Morrison. 

Fragments of Louise’s poetry are whispered in Dan’s composition, which gather in intensity second by second, creating rhythmic speech patterns that send a wash of sound rippling around the walls. Rising up beneath the voices, a soundscape evolves, resonant of patterns in nature and cycles of growth and decay, creating a chilling atmosphere. Phrases and snippets of the poetry are also scrawled on slates which can be reflected on while you listen.

Long Division is an immersive sensory experience inspired by the time in-between, as the light shifts from day to night.

Long Division was further developed in partnership with Salisbury International Arts Festival for Salisbury Cathedral, and then toured at Churches across the UK and various festivals including Todmorden Festival and Leeds Lit Fest 2020. Recently IOU’s Artistic Director David Wheeler worked with artist and long-term collaborator Richard Wincer to develop the installation further with the introduction of wooden desks.The installation consists of two rows of five desks which creates an avenue of whispering sounds, and is suited to locations such as courtyards and quadrants, big empty buildings, rooms, sheds, gardens, or overgrown woods.