A SPATIAL SOUND MEMORIAL TO AN EXTINCT MIGRATION ROUTE

Lighthouse in partnership with Fabrica presents Alberto Ruiz Soler and William Fairbrother’s new immersive spatial sound composition and experiential sensory sculpture, Paso.

Paso is a memorial to an extinct migration route. It remembers the chalk land bridge that once connected Britain to Europe and the animal migrants (including 3 species of early human) that crossed it until its collapse due to climate change 450,000 years ago.

Where: Fabrica Gallery, 40 Duke St, Brighton.

Paso is intended to be a passing place that celebrates freedom of movement; it is free to visit and open to all, and offers a space to consider the topic of migration from a less human-centred perspective. Paso serves as a reminder of the many animal (including human) migration routes that are in jeopardy at the moment and into the future due to the accelerating effect of human decision-making and behaviours around the world.

Experience of the work encourages an attention away from vision, often understood to be Homo sapiens’ primary sense, to focus on close-listening and close-touch. It is an invitation to become more aware of our bodies and the way that they are present and interactive within an environment.

Since their initial residency at Lighthouse in 2019, the artists have been collaborating with Maria Oshodi, with the aim to create a work that is equal in quality for blind, visually-impaired and sighted visitors alike. Oshodi is Artistic director and CEO of Extant Theatre Company, Britain’s only professional performing arts company of blind and partially sighted people.

The artists would also like to thank Sanjeev Gupta, leading expert on the landbridge for his collaboration.

Paso will be simultaneously launched as an AR app so that the audience can explore the sound composition and visualisations of the sculpture using their phone from wherever they are.

The exhibition has been realised with the support of Arts Council England and Fabrica Gallery.