City Sounds
Collaborative spatial art intervention, Across RCA, 2024
Fireworks as a Source of Distress for Vulnerable Residents
City Sounds was developed as part of the Across RCA programme, a collaborative project with Xiaochao Shang and Keiji Ichijo. Installed at the Hockney Gallery, RCA, the work brought together students from different disciplines to create a spatial art intervention addressing the hidden impact of fireworks noise on vulnerable communities.
While fireworks are widely seen as symbols of joy and celebration, their sound can have a disturbing impact. For refugees of war, people living with PTSD, children, the elderly, pets, and wildlife, the sudden bursts of noise resemble the trauma of explosions and violence.
The idea for City Sounds arose from my own perspective as someone from Ukraine, a country living through war. What to many is a spectacle of light and celebration, to me echoes the sounds and images of destruction. This personal connection shaped the project and helped frame fireworks not only as entertainment, but also as triggers of fear and memory for those marked by conflict.
City Sounds addressed this tension through a silent spatial installation. Two parallel video projections juxtaposed images of festive fireworks with footage of explosions in war zones, collapsing the distance between celebration and destruction. By removing sound entirely, the work heightened the dissonance and asked viewers to reconsider how urban celebrations are experienced, and by whom.
To extend the piece into direct action, visitors were invited to engage with postcards addressed to the Mayor of London, advocating for the adoption of silent or low-noise fireworks. This participatory element transformed the installation from an artwork into a civic gesture, where reflection became activism.
By combining research, collaboration, and public engagement, the intervention highlighted the often-unheard costs of celebration and proposed more inclusive and empathetic approaches to urban soundscapes.