"A Score of the Underground"
Section MS20, Steven (Haoge) Gan
Keywords: sound, installation, notation, infrastructure
The project A Score of the Underground explores the soundscape of the London Underground Network through the relationship between mechanical and personal response of the sound. It examines how sound occupies and defines spatial form where a human agent is placed, relating to how this occupation can be visualised or translated into media that are not primarily auditory. Rather than focusing on how we listen, the project investigates how sound can be seen, how its presence, density, and resonating within underground spaces can be understood through visual, spatial, or material means. In this way, sound becomes both a subject and a method, shaping the perception of mechanical and personal.
The project deals with wider themes of media, perception, and environment. It questions how sound can be understood when removed from its audible form whether it can exist as data,visualisation or memory. This strategy aligns with critical media practices explored in the course, where form and process are equally part of the meaning. The project also situates itself within contemporary discussions about the politics of listening, public infrastructure, and the everyday experience of the Underground.