Aftershock: A science–art collaboration through sonification

Abstract

We are immersed in a wonderful cacophony of sound. Sustained and intermittent pings, cracks, burrs, plops and tingles jostle for position in our heads. High-pitched delicate cascades contrast starkly with deep thunder like rumbles that seem to permeate our entire bodies. We are exploring a fragmenting fault zone from the inside, a dynamic geological process brought to our ears through sonification and science–art collaboration: the interactive sound art installation Aftershock. Aftershock (2011) is the result of the collaboration between composer Natasha Barrett, associate professor of geosciences Karen Mair and the Norwegian Centre for the Physics of Geological Processes (PGP) at the University of Oslo. In this paper we discuss how a scientist and an artist collaborated through sonification, the artistic results of this approach and how new compositional methods and aesthetical frameworks emerged.