KIMA: Noise at Tate Modern

KIMA: Noise – artists raising awareness about the effect of noise on health and well-being

A new art piece by Analema Group at Tate Exchange

In November 2019, visitors to the Tate Exchange were invited to experience urban noise as a multi-sensory art installation. The artwork KIMA Noise was developed by the Analema Group over the last two years in collaboration with Dr Stephen Stansfeld (Queen Mary). Audiences were drawing their graphic impressions of urban noise as a real-time sound sculpture. Audiences could experience urban sound from around the Tate as trajectories of sound, travelling through the space of Tate Exchange at Tate Modern. Four real-time streams, from construction noise, to railroad tracks were visualised on the panoramic windows of the Tate’s monumental architecture. Through direct experience, the audience learned about the effects of noise, while shaping and designing their own soundscape.

“We are encouraging audiences to listen with their ears, but also to interact with their hands, eyes and experience sounds with their whole body”, explains Evgenia Emets, Founder of Analema Group. “Sound is not only something that enters through our ears, whether we are aware of it or not, it affects us, positively or negatively, in many different ways. We have been fascinated for many years by the possibility to ‘see’ sound, for example, to perceive sound while it is being transformed into a visual realm.”

The Analema Group, a collective operating between art, technology and science, specialises on immersive experiences. At Tate Exchange, the idea was to present alternate forms of sound experiences: Dr. Alain Renaud, who specialises in sound design at Analema Group explains: “In the second room, audiences can experience deep vibrations of the sounds of the city in real-time. This sensation of sound that you can feel emphasises how much sound really affects us!”

Supported by the Arts Council England, the exhibition was flanked by a rich program of talks, and a workshop with high uptake by scientists, other artists, and local communities. The outcome of a two year long research with Prof. Stephen Stansfeld at Queen Mary University, KIMA: Noise hopes to raise awareness for urban noise: “We want local communities to understand the effect of noise on their health, on their social behaviour, their lives, but also encourage creative thinking so that local communities can help themselves better,” explains Oliver Gingrich at Analema. “At Bankside, where Tate is located, more than 13,000 people are exposed to noise levels that easily reach 80db. The Thames amplifies these sounds, yet local communities can only help themselves, if they understand the impact of noise.”

At Tate Exchange, an impressive mix of technology, provided by PRG UK, PSL, and Accucities, science, art, and local community support made for a spectacular multi-sensory experience that will now travel abroad.

Analema Group’s next project KIMA: Colour is about to be presented at National Gallery X in London in May 2020.