Further Adventures in Deep Canine Topography: Experiments in canine Soundscapes: Attending to Rhythm and Repetition. by O'Brien and O'Brien

Operating at the intersection of fine art walking practice, psychogeography, critical animal studies and ecology, the practice of Deep Canine Topography seeks to reframe the humble act of the ‘walkies’ as a co-authored act of ‘making’ or ‘performing’ together. As part of the practice based element of my PhD thesis, Deep Canine Topography, this practice based investigation of the performance of human-canine hybrid aesthetic walking practices, focuses on the rhythm and repetition of the urban walkies through Henri Lefebvre's Rhythmanalysis. Using sound, photography and GPS to document the daily repetitive morning walk, in urban Leicester, this presentation explores two such walks, one taken in January 2020, the other in March 2020, during the Covid 19 lockdown period. Both walks follow the same circular route. Both attend to the rhythms of the human-canine bodies, traffic, human conversation and canine olfactory signs and signifiers, exploring harmony and disharmony between the linear rhythms of production and more messy rhythms of nature. Binaural microphones are positioned close to the canine body to capture a soundscape from the canine perspective. Duration of both walks is around 13 minutes. Headphones are advised for a full spatial experience. The sound will autorun on opening the exposition. PLEASE WEAR HEADPHONES: First presented at the Midlands 4 Cities, ARHC, Research Festival: July 13th_14th 2020: Clicking on the round MAP circle will take you to the central exposition of my PhD: Deep Canine Topography.

You are advised to use headphones and close your eyes as you listen to this 15m sound-walk.

When finished click next for sound-walk 2.

'...to grasp a rhythm it is necessary to be grasped by it; one must let oneself go, give oneself over, abandon oneself to its duration.' (Lefebvre 2004: 27)

Lefebvre, H, Moore, G, & Elden, S 2004, Rhythmanalysis : Space, Time and Everyday Life, Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

Methods:

Quite early in the PhD I became interested in canine soundscapes, specifically how my canine companion's position, close to the ground, changed special dynamics and rhythm. I purchased a pair of Roland in ear binaural microphones and adapted my companions walking harness by positioning the microphones just behind each on his ears and made a cradle for an on-board digital recorder. The result is an immersive canine soundscape, through which the hearer can imagine themselves as canine.

We undertook a number of urban walks from our home usually a simple block walk of under ½ a mile, recording sound from the canine POV as we walked. The first of the walks was recorded in January 2020, the second during the first Covid lockdown, with a noticeable difference in soundscape between the two.

Equipment:

Roland in-ear binaural microphones
Dog running harness
Olympus digital Dictaphone
Bicycle innertubes
Insulating tape

Discoveries:

I presented the soundscape work at a Dream practice-based seminar, by installing in the LiSTEN iN Sound-Cinema booth in Bonington Building (Nottingham Trent University). Seminar participants reported feelings of embodying the canine position, creating powerful minds-eye images the world at ground level. Encounters with the soundscapes of the canine body might offer a powerful zone of contact, a bridge between the embodied experience in which the human momentarily becomes canine. I’m interested in how such soundscapes become a language of sorts and one which has transformative potential to reach across species boundaries.

This work was also presented at the 2020 M4C Research Festival as part of an online poster and creative showcase, and as part of the 2020 Sound Walk September online event.

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