Iain Mott: Sound Mapping

Abstract

Sound Mapping is a participatory work of sound art made for outdoor environments. The work was made collaboratively by composer lain Mott, designer Marc Raszewski and hardware developer Jim Sosnin. Sound Mappings installed in the environment by means of a Global Positioning System (GPS) which tracks the movement of participants through the space. Their position is mapped to sounds that relate to their immediate surroundings, creating a walkthrough composition arranged in geographical space rather than time. Using ordinary movements and travelling through well-trodden public locations, the group creates a composition in the image of their daily experience. Sound Mapping was premiered in Hobart by the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in February 1998. In the same year it was awarded an Honorary Mention in the Interactive Art category of the Prix Ars Electronica, and was exhibited at the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria.