Sounding Space: The Olduvai Cliff

Launching a new series of events exploring the relationship between sound and space, an installation from artist Sam Griffin, in collaboration with musicians Guy Wood and Jo Wills, will flood The Architecture Foundation’s Project Space with a sea of bass.

For one night only – and on the day statistically noted to be the most depressing of the year, ‘Blue Monday’ – the AF will reverberate at 111Hz, a frequency known to induce endorphins in human physiology. Here, sound is used to transform the physical environment, creating a temporary, invisible, yet penetrating architecture.

Griffin’s sonic topography reacts to the space in which it is inserted, creating a changing aural landscape as much felt as heard, as its frequencies – carefully calibrated in response to the specific dimensions of the AF Project Space – refract in stereo around the space.

The installation’s title references the apocalyptic Olduvai Theory – which suggests industrial civilisation will have a lifespan of less than 100 years due to overpopulation, economic burnout, and the depletion of natural resources. The theory’s author, Richard C. Duncan, noted 2012 as the tipping point, or cliff, after which we should expect ‘an epidemic of permanent blackouts worldwide… [until] finally the electric power networks themselves expire.’

Sound and light combine for the psychologically darkest evening of an allegedly apocalyptic year. Join us at The Architecture Foundation for some immersive respite.

Email events[at]architecturefoundation.org.uk to secure attendance