Sophie Hughes

"The Echoes of Solsbury Hill"

Section MS10, Freya Spencer-Wood

Keywords: sound music, performance, nature, landscape, set design, environment, writing

The Echoes of Solsbury Hill explores the 1994-1996 protest against the Batheaston bypass, a development threatening a sacred landscape. The protest, documented by a photographer, marked a pivotal moment in British political history, influencing government transport policy and derailing over 300 other schemes. This project stages a performative protest, featuring a prototype which represents nature deconstructed and pulled apart to emphasise the damage inflicted. Beneath, a man-made surface is mixed with the earth, illustrating the forceful uprooting of the trees and pervasive harm caused. Human presence throughout this piece is portrayed through a spoken poem, the words narrating a journey through the destruction of Solsbury Hill. The objective is to critique the relentless destruction of nature for human gain, conveyed through a fabricated landscape. There is a complex interplay between the natural environment, human activities, and responses to environmental trans- formations, emphasising performative reactions to construction and urbanisation’s impact on landscapes.