Sonic Drapery
patches of sound
Upon listening to the 9 audio tracks curated by Mary Stewart over and over again I found myself drawn to the interview of Irene Elliot- a crown court clerk.
In the extract we received she spoke of her mother and her sewing with great warmth and fondness. I wanted to translate that warmth. I read an interesting paper by Kirsty Beilharz and Andrew Vande Moere about Sonic Drapery and I instantly knew what I wanted to do.
I’m making a Sonic Quilt.
My engagement with my chosen audio track somehow got me pursuing something completely out of my comfort zone, handling conductive fabrics and touch sensitive modules. I had chosen to be ambitious and sew a quilt although I’ve never fully made one on my own before.
I imagined a hooded quilt with speaker filled patches like so-
Okay so I’m going to sew a quilt. And I’m going to sew electronic components into it. Um, what was I thinking?
With the help of John Wild from Mechatronics support I was able to get my hands on a Bare Conductive module that could activate upto 12 audio clips. I chose to make 12 clips of Irene’s interview and have 12 conductive fabric patches with corresponding imagery. They were to be connected using conductive thread and thin flexible wires.
I spent an awful amount of time at Shepherd’d Bush Market sourcing materials for the quilt. I clearly hadn’t taken into account that I was no longer in India. And to top it off I had never used a sewing machine before.
To acquaint myself better I attended a sewing machine and iron induction at the Fashion studio in Kensington. I honestly didn’t imagine myself to be sewing during my time here at the RCA however I am truly beginning to enjoy and appreciate the unexpected meandering.
After a week of sleeping on the floor while the quilt grew on the bed, I was left with this!
I even sewed little flexible headphones into the hood. It was really effective.
Simultaneously I was prepping to set the scene. How do I want people to experience this quilt? Should I create a cozy little space within the closet at the British Library?
I sourced this lovely chair and lamp stand from Portobello Market and salvaged them for my little set.
All in all I was pretty impressed with what I had accomplished having never really stitched something on my own before, not to mention have a fully functional rather responsive circuit sewn into it.
Undoubtedly there we several goof ups with the stitching. Sizing for one. Why did I think it was smart to make the quilt to my measure? I have got a head the size of a peanut- no way is this hood fitting anyone else. Yes the quilt looks like it is meant for a child- how is an adult supposed to wear it and sit down without activating all the patches? Also how are you supposed to see the what you are pressing? Sigh.
I had tested the quilt while laying it flat and it worked perfectly HOWEVER when draped — multiple patches were being activated simultaneouly. This confused the circuit board and as a result none of the audio clips were playing. (Note to self — Next time test the object in the manner it is to be experienced.)
I somehow managed to display it differently at the British Library after testing the flawed experience on a few early visitors. The closet I chose was convenient and had a rail for me to suspend my quilt instead. Mary lent me her speakers and we were good to go. If anything I found this to be more effective as viewers could take the whole quilt in as they explored its various patches through sight and touch.
A rich learning experience that’s for sure.
