Large scale sonic installation, 105+db, brings the energy and roar of football to Great Exhibition of the North

Experience the North’s passion for the beautiful game like never before….

Large scale sonic installation, 105+db, brings the energy and roar of five Northern football stadiums to Great Exhibition of the North

From this Friday 22 June 2018 interactive arts studio Invisible Flockinvites the public to experience a unique, mass-scale sonic installation, 105+db, at Great Exhibition of the North. Capturing and transporting the incredible tribal sound and energy of crowds found in five football stadiums across the North including the Etihad Stadium home to Manchester City and Newcastle’s home ground at St. James’ Park, this ambitious and playful 3D installation will be sited in Performance Square directly outside Sage Gateshead until 24 June 2018.

105dB is the sound level at which an individual voice is lost in a crowdMerging stadiums and citiesthe collective passion and individual cheers and boos, chants and songs create a 3D roar for participants of all ages to navigate and explore, walking through and around an extraordinary wall of sound and harnessing the popularity of football to create dialogue in unexpected places.

Catherine Baxendale, Creative Producer at Invisible Flock says, “Experiencing 105+dB can be epic and evocative, so exhilarating that it vibrates through the soles of your shoes, but it is this physical intensity that creates a very visceral connection between you as an audience member and the tens of thousands of fans experiencing the match. With the passion and  power behind the collective voice and the togetherness of the chants you can’t help yourself but be carried along with the momentum of the crowd, enveloping you in a giant embrace from 40,000 people. Being able to experience a match through the prism of the spectators alone means that all of the politics behind the game is stripped away and the narrative is owned by the fans.”

Using a custom-built array of microphones positioned around the five stadiums, Invisible Flock captured not only the emotionally charged sound itself but an exact spatial replica of the scale and location of the noise in 3D space. The result is the rousing sound footprint of the terraces in 360 degrees. Individual voices can be heard around the edges of the installation, or the collective roar from the centre, exploring what it means to belong as an individual or as part of a mass and questioning our notions of identity, place and participation.

This large scale, interactive and ambitious work of public art reflects Invisible Flock’s innovative and socially engaged portfolio, using accessible themes in surprising places to connect audiences, artists and everyday experience, and asking us to contemplate the world in which we live and our place within it.

Taking place from 22 June - 9 September 2018 across NewcastleGateshead, Great Exhibition of the North is a free, once-in-a-lifetime event which celebrates great art and culture, design and innovation from across the North. Full of amazing exhibits, live performances, displays of innovation, new artworks and magical experiences, it will tell the inspiring story of the North of England and how its innovators, businesses, artists and designers have shaped our present and are inspiring our future.

invisibleflock.com

For more information on Great Exhibition of the North visit https://getnorth2018.com

The installation merges sound recorded from:

Elland Road Leeds United F.C v Charlton Athletic F.C, 30 April 2016

KC Stadium Hull City F.C v Newcastle United F.C, 29 November 2016

Oakwell Stadium Barnsley F.C v Bristol City F.C, 30 March 2018

St. James’ Park Newcastle United F.C v Huddersfield Town A.F.C, 31 March 2018

Etihad Stadium Manchester City F.C v Brighton and Hove Albion F.C, 8 May 2018

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