Sounds and Sweet Airs

Sounds and Sweet Airs is part of a long-term web project Soniferous Cities; Islands of Sound that experiments with the creation of sonic cartographies. The project which is part of the Öres21 Summer Exhibition aims to create rich interactive audio-portraits of a range of geographies, environments, and communities. Sounds and Sweet Airs links sites on the island of Örö to images and video maps via a series of QR codes placed in the landscape.

Visitors can roam the island to encounter 26 site-specific QR codes that trigger interactive web-based audio/image events (yes amazing that event in the remote Finnish archipelago there in mobile coverage!).

The work was developed during a one-month Artist in Residence on the island of Örö; which was originally an Imperial Russian fortress island that has been a closed military area for over one hundred years. Recently opened to the public, the island now showcases the history of Finland’s coastal defense, from the days of Tsarist Russia until the present day.

The island’s main sights include the well-preserved barracks, heavy Obuhov guns, defense posts, and fortifications from various eras. Thanks to its history as a closed fortress island, Örö has evolved into one of Southern Finland’s key concentrations of threatened species and habitat types.

And for those who cannot make it out to this beautiful remote location – you can travel by armchair by simply visiting Soniferous Cities; Islands of Sound.