THEM’S THE BREAKS — WHEN ROKHAYA DOUCOUURE MET THE RESOLVE COLLECTIVE
Photo credit: Adiam Yemane
Rokhaya Doucouure meets the Resolve Collective as she begins to explore her post-graduate future.
Them’s the Breaks was featured at the Barbican this year and Rokhaya took the opportunity to take part in a Croydon sound workshop — part of the series of events for the Barbican.
Barbican Art Gallery controversially presented Them’s the Breaks: a new site-specific installation for The Curve this year. “Foraging” materials from across London and the South Coast, as well as re-using objects from previous installations:
RESOLVE constructed an interactive landscape. A vast wave of reclaimed and re-purposed materials and ephemera rippled across the length of the 90-metre space and flowed up the walls.
Visitors were encouraged to touch and interact with the installation, breaking down barriers between the public and the art on display. RESOLVE produced their original installation according to ultrasonic evaluations of the Barbican’s iconic concrete structures; radically re-thinking the fabric of the institution, the results of this analysis informed a dynamic and collaborative response to the splintered histories of the stony surrounds.
Resolve Collective are a group of artists, designers, and researchers who explore the intersection of architecture, sound, and art. Their workshop provide a unique opportunity to discover the hidden potential of sound in our daily lives, and I had the privilege of participating in one of their interactive workshops recently. Led by one of the members of Resolve, the workshop involved a walk around a shopping centre in Croydon, drawing the sounds we heard, and later associating words and feelings to them.
The workshop was an eye-opening experience, as I became more aware of the intricate relationship between sound and architecture. We were encouraged to observe the ways in which sound helps us interact with the buildings in our environment, such as shopping centres. We learned how the soundscape can influence our emotions, memories, and even our behaviour within a space.
“It was fascinating to see how the sounds of footsteps, escalators, music, and chatter all contribute to the atmosphere of a building. Drawing the sounds, we heard was a unique exercise that allowed us to capture and interpret the soundscape in a visual form.”
Overall, the workshop was an enriching experience that provided a new perspective on the relationship between sound and architecture. It was a reminder that sound is not just a background noise, but an essential element that shapes our experience of the built environment.