Dusk to Dawn
Elastic Proximity
Jesse Austin-Stewart, Sabrina Lawson, Stuart Foster & Jon He
About the work
Elastic Proximity is an interactive spatial installation that reanimates archival field recordings from urban sites, resituating them within a new sensory ecology. Three standing objects, each a sentient node of sound and light, respond to the presence and movement of bodies in space. As visitors approach, dormant atmospheres awaken: traffic hums become harmonic pulses, air vents translate into tone, memory turns acoustic. Through proximity sensors, spatial sound, and colour-coded illumination, the work compresses distance, inviting audiences to slip between place and time, and turns the sculptures into agentic participants with the audience.
The work investigates how sound archives function as portals, teleporting listeners into different spaces and times while interacting with audiences, anchoring them in the present moment. Elastic Proximity invites listeners to interact with disconnected moments through spatial encounter; hearing with the body, moving through the past, and shaping an environment that listens back.
