Hear us O Lord ... using sound and Malcolm Lowry's short stories to create a new vocabulary for re-imagining plastic-filled seas.
Lead Research Organisation:
Leeds Beckett University
Department Name: Art, Architecture and Design
Abstract
Hear us O Lord from heaven thy dwelling place: using sound and Malcolm Lowry's short stories to create a new vocabulary for re-imagining plastic-filled seas.
Our seas are polluted with eight million metric tons of plastic every year and microplastics have found their way into humans through the food chain. How do we process such statistics and scenarios? How and where can we network to create new artefacts that present the problem differently? To reflect and act upon this extraordinary state, we wish to develop a cross-disciplinary network that meets at sea and produces new audio content with the clear overall aim of finding a new vocabulary for re-imagining our plastic-filled seas. We will explore what happens when a Practice-As-Research methodology brings academics and creatives together at sea to mingle with members of the public and uses the short stories of Malcolm Lowry and sound recording as catalysts to re-imagine our plastic-filled seas. We feel that this network, building upon previous Lowry research, will benefit not only those sectors involved but, through the free podcasts, be of use in educational, entertainment and artistic contexts. We are observing many students attempting to make work about plastic pollution but their references are limited and primarily visual. How can we instead use listening and a fresh set of literary references to generate new content?
The research will use sound under the guidance of one of the world's leading sound recordists, Chris Watson, who has used audio to encourage us to rethink our immediate and global surrounds. His award-winning natural history work with David Attenborough has given Watson a unique insight into the relationship between the environment and sound. Malcolm Lowry was born on Merseyside in 1909 and named his collection of short maritime stories 'Hear us O Lord ...' after an Isle of Man hymn. His writing will be the catalyst for our network that will meet at sea during six crossings between Liverpool and Isle of Man. Lowry's stories presciently explore the impact of oil refineries on coasts and the significance of sea travel writing. During each 4-hour crossing, researchers will mingle with members of the public and ferry staff to record short interviews, Lowry passages and abstract sounds. Each crossing will be programmed around specific themes, outlined in Case for Support, and each journey will have professionally delivered sound recording workshops, Malcolm Lowry readings and informal participation.
We are proposing an exciting network who will meet at sea, including:
The Retail Institute, liaising between the packaging industry and retailers such as Asda, Waitrose and Nestle
The Art Doctors, an artists' group engaging the public in unusual contexts
Bluecoat, Liverpool's centre for contemporary art and Lowry advocates through their 'Lowry Lounge' programme
Mariners' Park, retirement facility on Merseyside for those with 25-years experience at sea
The Band of Holy Joy, sound collage musicians/broadcasters
Dr Jessica Van Horssen, expert in plastic pollution and part of eXXpedition network
Merseyside Maritime Museum, National Museums Liverpool
The network will be led by visual/sound artist Dr Alan Dunn (Leeds Beckett University) and Malcolm Lowry expert and poet Dr Helen Tookey (Liverpool John Moores University) who previously collaborated on 'The Lighthouse Invites the Storm' conference, audio event, public artwork and limited edition CD.
Outputs from this new network include:
'Hear us O Lord' one-hour podcasts, 2020-22
'Hear us O Lord' two episodes of BAD PUNK by Band of Holy Joy, ResonanceFM
'The Lowry Lounge' art exhibition and live readings, Bluecoat
'Sea Galleries' digital display, Merseyside Maritime Museum
'Using Lowry and sound to tackle sea pollution' guest edited issue of 'Design Ecologies'
'Plastic at sea, with Lowry', researchers' network presentation, The Retail Institute annual seminar
Our seas are polluted with eight million metric tons of plastic every year and microplastics have found their way into humans through the food chain. How do we process such statistics and scenarios? How and where can we network to create new artefacts that present the problem differently? To reflect and act upon this extraordinary state, we wish to develop a cross-disciplinary network that meets at sea and produces new audio content with the clear overall aim of finding a new vocabulary for re-imagining our plastic-filled seas. We will explore what happens when a Practice-As-Research methodology brings academics and creatives together at sea to mingle with members of the public and uses the short stories of Malcolm Lowry and sound recording as catalysts to re-imagine our plastic-filled seas. We feel that this network, building upon previous Lowry research, will benefit not only those sectors involved but, through the free podcasts, be of use in educational, entertainment and artistic contexts. We are observing many students attempting to make work about plastic pollution but their references are limited and primarily visual. How can we instead use listening and a fresh set of literary references to generate new content?
The research will use sound under the guidance of one of the world's leading sound recordists, Chris Watson, who has used audio to encourage us to rethink our immediate and global surrounds. His award-winning natural history work with David Attenborough has given Watson a unique insight into the relationship between the environment and sound. Malcolm Lowry was born on Merseyside in 1909 and named his collection of short maritime stories 'Hear us O Lord ...' after an Isle of Man hymn. His writing will be the catalyst for our network that will meet at sea during six crossings between Liverpool and Isle of Man. Lowry's stories presciently explore the impact of oil refineries on coasts and the significance of sea travel writing. During each 4-hour crossing, researchers will mingle with members of the public and ferry staff to record short interviews, Lowry passages and abstract sounds. Each crossing will be programmed around specific themes, outlined in Case for Support, and each journey will have professionally delivered sound recording workshops, Malcolm Lowry readings and informal participation.
We are proposing an exciting network who will meet at sea, including:
The Retail Institute, liaising between the packaging industry and retailers such as Asda, Waitrose and Nestle
The Art Doctors, an artists' group engaging the public in unusual contexts
Bluecoat, Liverpool's centre for contemporary art and Lowry advocates through their 'Lowry Lounge' programme
Mariners' Park, retirement facility on Merseyside for those with 25-years experience at sea
The Band of Holy Joy, sound collage musicians/broadcasters
Dr Jessica Van Horssen, expert in plastic pollution and part of eXXpedition network
Merseyside Maritime Museum, National Museums Liverpool
The network will be led by visual/sound artist Dr Alan Dunn (Leeds Beckett University) and Malcolm Lowry expert and poet Dr Helen Tookey (Liverpool John Moores University) who previously collaborated on 'The Lighthouse Invites the Storm' conference, audio event, public artwork and limited edition CD.
Outputs from this new network include:
'Hear us O Lord' one-hour podcasts, 2020-22
'Hear us O Lord' two episodes of BAD PUNK by Band of Holy Joy, ResonanceFM
'The Lowry Lounge' art exhibition and live readings, Bluecoat
'Sea Galleries' digital display, Merseyside Maritime Museum
'Using Lowry and sound to tackle sea pollution' guest edited issue of 'Design Ecologies'
'Plastic at sea, with Lowry', researchers' network presentation, The Retail Institute annual seminar
Planned Impact
Dissemination
This network ensures the participation of the public and aims to benefit non-academics by deploying contemporary and traditional media to ensure our content is known about and heard. Current statistics claim that 6m Britains tune into podcasts each week and globally an estimated 143m have accessed podcasts. After careful consideration of other formats (e.g. CDs), we feel that the free distribution around the globe for people of all ages of our sounds is best served through podcasts. As the listening figures suggest, it is a competitive market and we will need to use all our participants' relevant marketing departments and networks to maximise reach. We will work with leading podcast company aCAST and to support and promote the podcasts we will stage a series of launch events, including as part of the annual Lowry Lounges. These events will include live readings from network members, listening posts to access the podcasts, press launches and distribution of links to podcasts, co-ordinated and promoted by the host venues. Combined social media reach of investigators, LBU, Bluecoat, LJMU and associated institutions and partners is estimated at 250k. National Museums of Liverpool have agreed to present a digital exhibition about the network within the new fifteen-year 'Sea Galleries' display within their Merseyside Maritime Museum at the Royal Albert Dock, a venue that attracted 906,202 visitors in 2017/18. They will also promote the network via their website, particularly during the 175th anniversary of the Dock in 2021. Alongside historical material, the Museum is keen to be an important influence on current and future maritime issues, exemplified by its recent exhibition on contemporary slavery. These curators, engagement co-ordinators and visitors are all seen as potential beneficiaries and our network is designed to access this sector.
Beneficiaries beyond academia
We will target those with a direct relationship with the sea, from those using the ferry crossings - on average 200 per crossing - to those working in the nautical industry. Within this grouping, we include retired merchant seamen who live at Mariners' Park and while we can only invite a small number of them, we are working closely with their Events Programme Manager to ensure ongoing activities. We will target and influence policy makers, specifically using the expertise of Jessica Van Horssen and The Retail Institute who have established networks with industry and who are currently researching the impact of sensory inputs upon customers' journeys.
We will target the public by developing our relationship with the media, particularly BBC Radio, to further disseminate the content and encourage access to the podcasts. Our workshop deliverer Chris Watson has recorded regularly for BBC's Natural History Radio Unit in Bristol and Alan Dunn produced the 'SuperBlock' (2003) sci-fi radio play for BBC Radio 3 that used sound to address how a Government housing scheme impacted upon residents. Liverpool Housing Action Trust's Community Development Officer Paul Kelly reflected that 'SuperBlock was real groundbreaking work and created an open environment of engagement and involvement of our tenants, increasing their energy and profile and leading the way for more focus on artists working with communities.'
Summary of benefits beyond academia
The primary benefit is the development and sharing of audio that enlightens and delivers the unexpected while combatting 'pollution fatigue.' The network will lead to members of the public:
- engaging with environmental issues while at sea
- being made aware of the power of sound to reconsider our place in the world
- experiencing cross-disciplinary academic research
Professionals and policy makers will be presented with alternative first-person and collaborative responses to a environmental issues that are informative, educational and entertaining.
This network ensures the participation of the public and aims to benefit non-academics by deploying contemporary and traditional media to ensure our content is known about and heard. Current statistics claim that 6m Britains tune into podcasts each week and globally an estimated 143m have accessed podcasts. After careful consideration of other formats (e.g. CDs), we feel that the free distribution around the globe for people of all ages of our sounds is best served through podcasts. As the listening figures suggest, it is a competitive market and we will need to use all our participants' relevant marketing departments and networks to maximise reach. We will work with leading podcast company aCAST and to support and promote the podcasts we will stage a series of launch events, including as part of the annual Lowry Lounges. These events will include live readings from network members, listening posts to access the podcasts, press launches and distribution of links to podcasts, co-ordinated and promoted by the host venues. Combined social media reach of investigators, LBU, Bluecoat, LJMU and associated institutions and partners is estimated at 250k. National Museums of Liverpool have agreed to present a digital exhibition about the network within the new fifteen-year 'Sea Galleries' display within their Merseyside Maritime Museum at the Royal Albert Dock, a venue that attracted 906,202 visitors in 2017/18. They will also promote the network via their website, particularly during the 175th anniversary of the Dock in 2021. Alongside historical material, the Museum is keen to be an important influence on current and future maritime issues, exemplified by its recent exhibition on contemporary slavery. These curators, engagement co-ordinators and visitors are all seen as potential beneficiaries and our network is designed to access this sector.
Beneficiaries beyond academia
We will target those with a direct relationship with the sea, from those using the ferry crossings - on average 200 per crossing - to those working in the nautical industry. Within this grouping, we include retired merchant seamen who live at Mariners' Park and while we can only invite a small number of them, we are working closely with their Events Programme Manager to ensure ongoing activities. We will target and influence policy makers, specifically using the expertise of Jessica Van Horssen and The Retail Institute who have established networks with industry and who are currently researching the impact of sensory inputs upon customers' journeys.
We will target the public by developing our relationship with the media, particularly BBC Radio, to further disseminate the content and encourage access to the podcasts. Our workshop deliverer Chris Watson has recorded regularly for BBC's Natural History Radio Unit in Bristol and Alan Dunn produced the 'SuperBlock' (2003) sci-fi radio play for BBC Radio 3 that used sound to address how a Government housing scheme impacted upon residents. Liverpool Housing Action Trust's Community Development Officer Paul Kelly reflected that 'SuperBlock was real groundbreaking work and created an open environment of engagement and involvement of our tenants, increasing their energy and profile and leading the way for more focus on artists working with communities.'
Summary of benefits beyond academia
The primary benefit is the development and sharing of audio that enlightens and delivers the unexpected while combatting 'pollution fatigue.' The network will lead to members of the public:
- engaging with environmental issues while at sea
- being made aware of the power of sound to reconsider our place in the world
- experiencing cross-disciplinary academic research
Professionals and policy makers will be presented with alternative first-person and collaborative responses to a environmental issues that are informative, educational and entertaining.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Alan Dunn (Principal Investigator) | |
| Helen Tookey (Co-Investigator) |
| Title | Hear Us O Lord (Lowry Lounge) |
| Description | This was a three-hour programme of talks and presentations around our research and Malcolm Lowry's relationship with the Isle of Man, staged at the Bluecoat in Liverpool. Presenters included Alan Dunn, Cian Quayle, Helen Tookey, Bryan Biggs, The Art Doctors (live semaphore), Kristina Nenova and Frankie Mazzotta (network publication - https://malcolmlowry.com/knfmbook.pdf) and Jeremy Lowry (photographer and Malcolm Lowry's great-nephew). |
| Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | The event was part of the ongoing 'Lowry Lounge' series and strengthened the desire to develop a Lounge event for the Isle of Man itself in future. |
| URL | https://www.thebluecoat.org.uk/library/event/the-2022-lowry-lounge |
| Title | Hear Us O Lord (podcasts) |
| Description | These are a suite of 18 podcasts that gather together recordings made during the network visits to Isle of Man. Abstract and non-linear in nature, the podcasts include snippets from interviews with grassroots recycling agencies, Government ministers, beach cleaners and wild swimmers. Alongside, there are unique recordings of shrimp made by Chris Watson, young people playing with Lego and 'Frere Jacques' sung by a retired Shell Captain (Lowry used 'Frere Jacques' in 'Hear Us ... ' to represent the sound of a ship engine. In total, 21 people have contributed to composing podcasts so far with further contributions from members of the public and BAAD ACID, an Isle of Man-based band. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Excerpts from the podcasts have been presented at various events, including the 'Time and Tide' Parallel Session at the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (UK and Ireland) conference staged at Northumbria University, the Lowry Lounge (Bluecoat) and University of Leeds. |
| URL | https://malcolmlowry.com/ |
| Title | Hear Us O Lord (radio broadcast) |
| Description | This was a new sonic reflection on care for our oceans and the short stories of Malcolm Lowry in the form of a 30-minute composition broadcast by AIR Radio in Glasgow to coincide with COP26. The composition used recordings made on our first network at sea during the sailing between Liverpool and Isle of Man and field recordings made on the island, including beach cleaning with members of the public and The Beach Buddies who have been immensely innovative in relation to recycling. Of the island's 85,000 inhabitants, Beach Buddies have counted 16,000 who have collected plastic from their beaches and they have also shared their work with every Primary School on the island. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | This radio broadcast occurred early into our research and introduced us to a new sound art audience, via this long-form radio project in Glasgow broadcast during the COP26 Climate Change Conference in the city. |
| URL | https://malcolmlowry.com/ |
| Title | The Life and Death of Malcolm Lowry (radio broadcast) |
| Description | This was one of two hour-long collage radio broadcasts composed by network members the Band of Holy Joy for the ResonanceFM 'BAD PUNK' show on 8 April 2022. Orator Johny Brown introduced a (national) audience to Malcolm Lowry, tracing his personal and professional life. The second (15 April) presented a playlist of Lowry-related tracks compiled by Bryan Biggs (Director of Cultural Legacies, Bluecoat, Liverpool). |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | ResonanceFM is the AudioUK Network of the Year and gold winners in the Audio Production Awards; it is a groundbreaking 24/7 radio station which broadcasts nationally on Radioplayer and live streamed to the rest of the world, thus introducing our research to a far wider audience. |
| URL | https://malcolmlowry.com/ |
| Description | We brought together groups of academics, artists, musicians, writers, poets, environmentalists and retired maritime workers in an unprecedented network that has developed a new sonic language for awareness of plastics in our seas, using the short stories of Malcolm Lowry as a catalyst. Already in the 1950s, Lowry started to notice industrial pollution and we unpacked these prescient writings during our sea crossings between Liverpool and Isle of Man, a place that Lowry used as a metaphor for a healthier relationship with our natural environment, especially in his collection of short stories named after a Manx Fishermen's Hymn 'Hear Us O Lord From Heaven Thy Dwelling Place' (1961). Our network met at sea and on the Isle of Man, engaging members of the public, professionals on the island and our peers in new conversations around the subjects. We have worked closely with the Isle of Man Government and are looking to develop this relationship with our AHRC Follow-Up Funding bid (February 2023). We are using tangential references, such as the role played by Lego in childhood, ideas of salvage and the small scale of the Isle of Man for these abstract collaged podcasts that aim to stimulate new conversations and reflections around the subject. In addition, we are creating new permanent displays about our network, including within the foyer of Merseyside Maritime Museum that attracts just under 1 million visitors per year. We have discovered that 85% of the Isle of Man is marine territory and that it faces many environmental challenges. Our use of sound, including underwater recordings made by some of the world's leading sound recordists (such as Chris Watson, award-winning recordist for David Attenborough). has created a new 'language' for thinking about these invisible issues. We have composed these recordings into the series of 20-minute podcasts. In summary, our network created new opportunities for specialists to meet the public and learn more about the potential of creative activity to engage the people of the Isle of Man, and beyond, in re-thinking environmental issues, particularly in relation to acoustic diversity and listening to other species. |
| Exploitation Route | We are launching the podcasts in late February 2023 with large visual displays to promote them in partner venues: Leeds Beckett University, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Bluecoat and Liverpool John Moores University with an estimated 2m total views per year. We are making the podcasts available to our Isle of Man collaborators as part of a longer discussion there, including funding applications, to continue the work, especially the Manx Museum (potential exhibition in 2025), Isle of Man Government and Ballakermeen High School. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Education,Energy,Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Transport |
| URL | https://malcolmlowry.com/ |
| Description | Findings were initially hindered by COVID-19 and our intended physical networking was firstly digital. On reflection, this helped the network find out more about each other and allowed us time to contact the Isle of Man agencies we went on to meet. We undertook our first network crossing in September 2021 with 10 academics, writers, poets, artists and a retired sea captain travelling to and from Isle of Man from Liverpool to interact with the public and make sound recordings. We interacted with people of all ages during both three-hour crossings and on the island we spent time with The Beach Buddies, picking up plastic from Peel Beach, hearing about their UNESCO Biosphere status and chatting about pollution and Malcolm Lowry with fellow beach cleaners, local record shops and the general public. In November 2021 we were invited by AIR Radio in Glasgow to broadcast excerpts from our first network to coincide with the COP26 climate conference there. We undertook further discussions with Merseyside Maritime Museum regarding the permanent display about the network, including a link to our website www.malcolmlowry.com, within the very public entrance area of their Museum in Liverpool (installed May 2022). This enables our work to reach an even broader cross section of the public and school groups. We have been approached by Liverpool University Press in relation to developing a funding bid towards a possible printed publication as an outcome of the network. We presented an update during the Lowry Lounge in October 2021 at the Bluecoat in Liverpool. In April 2022, we undertook the second visit with five new collaborators, five new collaborators (Chris Watson, Olga Munroe, Sarah Hymas and Johny and James from BAD PUNK/Band of Holy Joy). Sarah worked on her 'Book of the Sea' during the crossing with members of the public, gathering great stories, including some with a family that keeps a reef tank at home and notices that certain spices impact upon it. In the Lounge, The Art Doctors engaged other passengers in word collaging exercises using Lowry texts and one table turned out to include Paul Merton and his Improv Chums. On the island, we met with Clara Isaac, founder of the kerbside recycling venture recyclecollect and Dr Richard Selman (Senior Biodiversity Officer in the Environment Directorate of the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture) and he shared with us the huge strides they are taking on the island in relation to their UNESCO Biosphere status and their stance on the TT Race; a few years ago they introduced the electronic-bike only TT Zero but the cars couldn't finish one lap and were silent! On Sunday Chris recorded some extraordinary limpet and shrimp sounds and Johny and James composed Lowry soundtracks for BAD PUNK on the ukelele. For our third and final crossing, we travelled with 11 people and stayed for two nights, allowing us to explore more of the Island. We were again five from the first trip (Alan Dunn, Helen Tookey, Bryan Biggs and the two Art Doctors, Liz Stirling and Alison McIntyre) and six new collaborators - Hannah Dargavel-Leafe, Ben Parry, David Jacques, Matt Green and two Fine Art students from Leeds Beckett University, Frankie Mazzotta (who has family on the Island) and Kristina Nenova. We set sail on Friday 9th September, the day after Queen Elizabeth II dies, a significant date in that our plan to do some collaborative semaphore with Art Doctors-made flags on the crossings was cancelled, despite our friendly negotiations with Lawrence, the Glasgow-based Captain in charge. We do however make recordings and texts during the crossing and upon arrival, we sat down with Dr Michelle Haywood, a diver and member of the Tynwald Government (Member of the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture). Michelle talked us through some of the Island's environmental challenges and also their desire to increase the population by 15,000. We then sat down with Rowan Henthorn from the Manx Blue Carbon Project to hear about this incredible project of mapping the island towards identifying future carbon sources. We spent Saturday in Port Erin, savouring the beautiful beach, doing some semaphore, collecting plastic from a remote beach and exploring the 'Winkle Pickers' exhibition marking the 130th anniversary of the Port Erin Marine Laboratory, chatting with some former academics who worked there. On Sunday, the Art Doctors headed south to meet some wild swimmers, and the others jumped on a bus north to Laxey to check in again with Bill from the Beach Buddies to pick up rubbish around the famous wheel; we wandered up into the glen and down onto the beach, before hopping on a rhythmic and contemplative train back to Douglas to get the ferry home. Our findings have formed the basis of two further funding applications (British Academy and AHRC FuF) to continue this research and specifically focus on underwater recording to increase awareness of the 'hidden 85%' of the island. Our findings in the form of the podcasts will be offered to creatives, schools and Isle of Man visitors to experience as tangible results of our network and island-wide listening stations. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Education,Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal |