APD Week 7

Week 7 of APD Play and Sound

APD W7

The Project links: 

https://youtu.be/C27HC1IjI7M APD W7: Part 1 Kuwait    

https://youtu.be/H9tEXTQXDSs APD W7: Part 2 Melbourne

https://youtu.be/yNn75KfpfU4 APD W7: Part 3 Mumbai

Theme: Play & Sound

Rationale (Bench Haiku):

Sound is one of the most important senses that we have. We can consume media through sound in different formats.

For this week, we had a lot of conversation about how play can be used to add more to the city through small interactions. Therefore, I was inspired to work on something through the medium of sound, that would help add to the art history and experience of a city in a small and subtle manner.

We got to see an example where a creator had added patterns to the trams in the city of Melbourne, which create music and sound through an AR app, as you line up the patterns on the tram along with the app. This is what inspired me to come up with the idea for the week.

Context: 

I had come across an image which showed that the city officials had added braille to the handle on the top of a hike, that described the view for people who have any visual disability. I found this idea to be really novel and unique.

I had also played this game recently call ‘Ghost of Tsushima’ where one of the side missions was to go to scenic spots and write a haiku. Haiku is a Japanese poetic form that consists of three lines. 

Taking the concepts from the above-mentioned ideas, I came up with something which is rather open ended in the style of play.

One thing I noticed that was quite similar in every city I have been to is that benches are treated as spots where people spend a lot of time by themselves in a contemplative state, often engaging in inner dialogue. A lot of benches also have a plaque of some kind, either in the honour of someone, or giving some information. I wanted to combine the above-mentioned ideas into this prototype of an initiative where benches can be used to tell small haiku type of short stories. These can be used to promote local writers, artists, and poets, as they talk about the city, tell short stories or poems, thereby adding to the art history of the city.

There have been times when I have sat on benches, closed my eyes, and just listened to the soundscape around. I wanted to encapsulate that in an artistic way.

Methods:

The idea is to have a small image, that serves as a QR code, in the form of a plaque installed in random benches around the city, some significant due to importance, some due to events, and some simply to tell a short story. Some can talk about the city, some can be personal, and some can be contemplative. Along with the haiku, I added the soundscape of the location to make it sound more grounded. I decided to remove any visuals and music, so that it can be a targeted experience which lasts about 10-15 seconds per bench. I did add images of the location for the videos now as they were uploaded to Youtube, but the idea is that it would link to a database that would allow you access to only the audio.

The subject of the haiku could be dependent on the writer and the location. Once the user scans the QR Code on the bench, they can listen to the poem that is inspired by that location. The experience will be short, and surreal.

‘Sound is not just what we hear or play, but equally a feeling in the body.’ – Howard Snell

I wanted to encapsulate that through some open ended and contemplative play.

QR Coded images for the audio files are attached.

Each of them sounds and feels different, as they are from different countries. Part 1 is from a bus stop in Kuwait, part 2 is from a bench in a park in Melbourne, and part 3 is morning walk park in Mumbai. Each poem talks about something from that location or scenario and in their local tongue.

Outcome/Reflection:

I am not sure how successful this idea would be if implemented, but this is something that had crossed my mind as a fleeting thought a few years back and trying to come up with this concept has been quite fun for me. I know quite a lot of people who are really good poets and shayars (people who write shayaris, very similar to poems, but culturally different like haikus) and have immense love for their cities. A contemplative approach to play with this concept could turn out to be a good and small addition to the idea of playable cities.