Graduation project
Sonic Footprints
Louis Möckel
Research into the sonic landscape surrounding the production and supply chain of a plastic dolphin toy is presented in an interactive listening installation.
Sonic Footprints is an investigation into the environmental impact of industrial sound emissions, treating them as ecological footprints. The project specifically examines how a mass-produced PVC toy dolphin may disrupt ecosystems through the sounds generated during manufacturing and transportation. Field recordings were made of the sonic landscape surrounding the toy’s supply chain on land and underwater, gauging the interference of these sound emissions in the habitat of real dolphins. The field recordings were pressed on two vinyl records. Made from the same material as the toy, the records offer a tangible and lasting representation of the interconnectedness between mass-produced objects and ecosystems.