Sound Wave Collider
Outdoor Sculptural Sound Installation
Sound Wave Collider is a sculptural sound installation made of large air-ducting tubes and giant cones that emit a chorus of soundscapes into special listening zones.
The concept for Sound Wave Collider was first realised after IOU Artistic Director David Wheeler’s residency in Antarctica as part of the British Antarctic Survey and Arts Council England, Artists and Writers Scheme.
The installation was originally commissioned by Junction Goole in 2012 with soundscape by contemporary music composer Yannis Kyriakadis. It was based on the sound of high velocity vortex rings and was part of a series of works made by David on natural phenomena following his time in Antarctica. This collaboration produced Speaking Tubes and Vortex – a live musical piece for eight musicians played through the installation.
Now called Sound Wave Collider, the installation has been redesigned for outdoor spaces and reimagined for compositions created by sound artists and musicians that are specific and unique to the sculpture’s location.
Jason Singh and IOU’s Sound Wave Collider Premiere “Mother of the Sea” at Flashes Festival of Nature
Sunday 6 July 2025
11am-4pm
Pennington Flash,Leigh, Lancashire
Free entry
IOU are again collaborating with renowned sound artist and composer Jason Singh for the premiere of his soundscape Mother of the Sea, experienced through IOU’s multi-sensory, sculptural sound installation Sound Wave Collider, at the Flashes Festival of Nature this July.
The innovative work celebrates the life and scientific contributions of Leigh-born botanist Dr Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker, whose research advanced understanding of the propagation of seaweed and rejuvenated the Japanese Nori industry, earning her posthumous recognition and reverence in Japanese culture.
Mother of the Sea pays tribute to Dr Kathleen Mary Drew-Baker’s pioneering research that not only advanced botanical science but also unknowingly forged lasting cultural ties between the United Kingdom and Japan.
Commissioned by Wigan Council and Turnpike Gallery, the Mother of the Sea soundscape creates a unique cultural bridge between Leigh and Uto, Kumamoto, Japan, where Dr Drew-Baker is honoured annually through a Shinto ceremony at the Sumiyoshi shrine.
From July to September 2023 Sound Wave Collider was sited at Yorkshire Sculpture Park as part of their Curiosity and Wonder programme.
IOU commissioned sound artist Jason Singh to create a unique listening experience for the Sound Wave Collider from recordings taken by him from across the park over 5 days. These recordings captured the hidden sounds of sculptures, plants, underwater organisms and wildlife of the surrounding landscape, creating a resonating sound world, wholly unique to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
During its residency at the park the Sound Wave Collider featured a Family Rave with Jason playing a 4 hour set, through the sculpture’s metal structures, of ambient and global music inspired by nature, and 2 sound walks where he invited audiences to slow down and listen to the sounds of the landscape
The installation was also visited by the Art Group from St Augustines, the West Yorkshire based charity that supports people fleeing war and persecution and seeking asylum. The group took park in an artist led workshop responding to hearing, touching and feeling the sounds from the sculpture
