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Leeds Beckett University academic showcases LEEDS 2023 sound installation at Temple Newsam
The project, Outside In, is running from 1 April to the 5 November 2023, and launches during the LEEDS 2023 season one Awakening showcase as part of a yearlong celebration of culture. The exhibit showcases Paul’s research in surveying and recording the diverse woodlands, rivers and species of the grounds.
The commission celebrates 100 years since the City of Leeds purchased Temple Newsam in 1922 and opened its gates to the public the following year. Alongside two other artists, People Powered Press and Diana Beltran Herrera, Paul has produced artwork that honours the ‘sights and sounds’ of the nature surrounding the Tudor Jacobean manor house.
The installation is taking place in the main picture gallery, with media players and speakers creating an immersive sonic experience.
“My practice is mostly sound-based, so I’m reversing the typical sensory priorities of many people,” Paul explains. “Most of us look around to try and affirm what something is. A few generations ago, we would’ve all known what something is, just by the sound of it.”
As an internationally exhibited artist, Paul is fascinated by the relationship between nature and the urban environment, particularly throughout Leeds’s transition from an industrial setting to one more dominated by banking, commercial and retail.
Paul explores the impact of this change on the surrounding wildlife through the medium of soundscapes, using the calls and murmuration of birds, hedgehogs, foxes and insects to raise awareness of the species on our doorstep.
The composition of these sounds is naturalistic, and typically decided by season. “Just like you were walking through a forest,” Paul explains, “you’ll hear some things at a distance, while some come up close. It has a realism about it, so it’s not like every bird sounds one after the other. It’ll have quiet moments with just wind, reeds or water.”
“I think lots of people don’t typically engage in nature because they don’t know the names, but you can still enjoy it,” he continues. “I’m trying to re-establish these connections, in the hope that will lead to people being more environmentally aware and start protecting these species before some of them have gone.”
Paul notes how the university hugely contributes to the Leeds arts and culture scene. He encourages students and aspiring artists to fully embrace with the city, knowing first-hand that travelling to remote locations eats into the time you have to be creative. “Respond to the local, I think that’s the big takeaway for the students. With Temple Newsam, I focused locally rather than internationally. It shows that you don’t need to travel far to do something interesting.”