Inhabiting Resonant Bodies is a new quadraphonic performance by Emma-Kate Matthews that explores resonance ass architectural material. Developed through the ongoing Resonant Bodies research project, the work spatialises recordings of bespoke cast bronze and laser-sintered instruments to create a rich sonic environment that is felt as much as it is heard.
Resonant partials move through space, overlap and interfere, producing shifting beating patterns, low-frequency vibrations and spatiosonic illusions. As listeners inhabit the sonic field, these relationships continually reconfigure, inviting resonance to be experienced as a spatial condition rather than just an audible phenomenon.
Presented as a work in progress, Inhabiting Resonant Bodies forms part of a wider body of research investigating how computational design, digital fabrication and spatial audio can be combined to develop new forms of sonic architecture. It offers an invitation to step inside resonant phenomena and experience sound as a material that can be inhabited.
Emma-Kate Matthews is an architect, composer and Associate Professor at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, whose practice explores the relationships between sound, space and making. Working across architecture, music, digital fabrication and spatial audio, she develops site-responsive performances, installations and bespoke instruments that investigate resonance as both a physical phenomenon and a design methodology.
Her work has been presented internationally at venues including the Barbican Centre, Southbank Centre, LSO St Luke's and the Sagrada Família, and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and international radio stations. Recent commissions and performances include works for London Graduate Orchestra and Ansambl Synchronos, alongside research presented at conferences including i3DA and CMMR.
Emma-Kate's ongoing Resonant Bodies project combines computational modelling, digital fabrication and performance to develop new approaches to sonic architecture through cast bronze and steel resonant instruments. Alongside her artistic practice, she leads design and fabrication collaboration at the Bartlett's B-made facility, supporting the integration of making across architectural education and research.
Her work has been recognised through nominations for the Lumen Prize and the Aesthetica Art Prize, and Highly Commended awards in the Sound of the Year Awards.
Supported by YAMAHA
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