PRACTICE STATEMENT
Dr Ruth Farrar’s practice is driven by helping the unheard become heard. Her documentary practice champions marginalised voices on sensitive topics ranging from mental wellbeing (Nurture) to men’s and women’s fertility issues (Infertility, the Media & Me).
Her sound design practice echoes this mission empowering more voices to become heard including empowering children in foster care to share their sonic identities in an audio trail in the Forest of Dean (My Identities). She also unlocked new stories from diverse perspectives about Carnegie Hall’s prestigious history in New York as an app producer and sound designer for the commissioned app: Dear Carnegie Hall.
Farrar’s practice experiments with interactive binaural and stereo sound design giving a sonic voice to humans (The Writing Mind) and non-humans (The Sound of Snow) in order to create deeper empathy and understanding. Please see two illustrative examples below.
SELECTION OF SOUND DESIGN WORK
The Writing Mind (2019)
The Writing Mind was an immersive binaural sound installation exhibited at Bath Festival in Bath's Assembly Rooms from 18 - 26 May, 2019. The commissioned piece was funded by South West Creative Technology Network. Created by researcher and sound designer Dr Ruth Farrar and researcher and performer Naomi Smyth.
The Writing Mind transported participants into the mind of a writer as they worked.
The doubts, distractions and rewards surrounded the installation’s participants.
While listening through headphones, we also offered participants the option to write in a shared online document or in a notebook.
The designed soundscape was based on interviews we carried out with writers from fiction, film and theatre who all have a connection to Bristol or Bath and Bath Spa University.
Contributing writers included Aisha Ali; Aste Amundsen; Rob Brown; Sharon Clark; Anita MacCallum and Mark Rutherford.
98% of survey participants found the binaural sound designed installation increased their empathy and understanding of writers and the writing process. Here is a sample of feedback:
'Wow loved it!' 'My thoughts and creativity were awakened' 'Very powerful and exciting'
'Relatable, soft & dreamlike' 'Transformative' 'Raised hairs on the back of my neck!'
The Sound of Snow (2018)
It is predicted the French Alps may lose up to 70% of its snow by the end of this century. Understanding R. Murray Schafer's definition of a soundmark, does this mean the sound of snow is an endangered sound that deserves to be documented and protected?
This sound art installation piece is a sonic memory capsule of Chamonix residents’ reflections on snow melting into binaural snow-crunching sound walks recorded on location in France at the start of February, 2017.
Stopping and taking time to listen to the sound of snow (which is often only documented in its visual form) is an innovative invitation for the listener to consider how climate change may alter our visual and sonic terrain of the future.
The installation comprises of a large carved wooden sound wave of a foot carving a footprint in fresh snow recorded in Chamonix. The wooden wave is supported by a copper frame.
A pair of white headphones is placed either side of the sound wave installation piece for listeners to experience the sound of snow.
The installation was exhibited at Goldsmith, University of London and Easton Arts Trail in Bristol. Based on qualitative and quantitative data, the installation effectively invited meaningful discussions and engagement on the impact of climate change from a sonic perspective.