Title of this project
Storytelling Soundsystem of “Silence Breaker : One Survivor’s Story”
Presentation
Concept
In the midst of current #metoo movement, I’d like to focus on domestic abuse particularly for this design project. We are facing significant moments of women’s right against sexual abuse in these current issues, and there are needs to bring about more positive effects to society than just mere attentions. I would like to bring up domestic abuse against women and children for my design project because sexual abuse in domestic area could be the most hidden, and deluded part.
One of a common myths associated with DA (Domestic Abuse) is that victims of DA are helpless, passive and fragile. However, survivors are often strong, and use a number of coping strategies to manage their situation. But society’s traditional approaches to survivors such as victim blaming, stigmatization, and pathologizing make obstacles to let them speak out. Also survivors are at risks such as retaliation from perpetrators and losing their life foundations. Through this design project, I’d like to call for a change to society to the level of acting out.
Goals & Target Audience
There are two types of target audience. One is survivors who are experiencing DA currently or were experiencing in the past / their childhood. And the other one is general citizens, especially decision-makers of corporations / organizations and policy-makers.
For survivors of DA, I intend to encourage and empower them to disclose their experience so that they would receive appropriate support. In this context, the word “disclose” connotes every suitable ways – publicly or privately – in terms of pursuing the most beneficial pathway to each survivor, not remaining in a painful situation any longer.
For decision-makers and policy-makers, I aim to enlighten them about reality and prevalence of DA so that they will be able to proactively create / provide adequate measurements on DA for society, corporations, and organizations.
Precedents
I would like to indicate three precedence that influenced a formation of my project. All of them are dealing with social, political, or global issues by utilizing sound very exquisitely and effectively.
- Guests (2009)
This art installation addresses the current issues of migration crisis in European countries. Artist is interrogating issues around this displacement of people to visitors and policy-makers. The projected images of arch-shaped windows and people talking, walking, or working like wiping and painting look real. It gives a message that immigrants/refugees are in the same place with local people but at the same time they are excluded and treated as complete “others.” The sound of this installation is from recording real interviews of refugees. When viewers stay in a distance from projected images, they can only hear murmuring, but closer to refugees’ images, they can hear clear voices of immigrants.
- The Forty Part Motet (2001)
Even though this installation is extremely simple in appearance, it gives powerful effects to audience when 40 speakers start to play each choir members’ voice. Cardiff recorded each member’s singing voice of a masterpiece of choir music separately, and played them through 40 speakers that are surrounding audience. When audience stay in the center of the room, they hear the harmonized choir, and when they get closer to each speaker, they can hear individual voice. This installation was exhibited right after 911, and audience were deeply touched by this beautifully expressed sound art.
- Sayndaya (2018)
Sayndaya is the name of Syrian prison, and this sound installation was built based on a testimony of one person who was a prisoner there before. Lawrence Abu Hamdan effectively revealed the reality of this unreachable prison by using technology called “ray tracing,” which is a tool for digital visualisation used in architectural design to map all the potential acoustic leaks throughout a building. Each line speculatively models the way a sound wave reflects off the walls, floors and ceilings to produce an architectural ultrasound scan. Hamdan successfully exposed the reality of Syrian civil war by making this creative soundscape. (http://lawrenceabuhamdan.com/#/sayadna/)
Project Description
To reveal the reality of DA and encourage other survivors of DA, I figured that delivering true story would be the best choice. I know a survivor of DA personally, and she was willing to speak out her experiences to many people. So this project was not possible without her decision. I recorded her testimony and made 4 soundtracks of her story by mixing other domestic noises with her voice in order to give realistic sense.
With these soundtracks, I built visual experiences in Unity by creating virtual spaces of her house and character of hers. These spaces were built based on her testimony, so all structures and interior are similar to her house where abuse was happen. Thus, 4 audiovisual experiences were created.
In order to deliver these soundtracks and invite audience to deeper engagement, I created “storytelling sound system.” That is a combination of fabric speaker and touch system that will trigger each section of the story. By making fabric speaker, I’d like to require more engagement of viewers such as coming close to the installation and keep their ears on it. These actions emphasize the significance of listening behavior, which is essential for this project. Moreover, creating a speaker can put more values and importance on this story. I used red canvas fabric for visual consistency, and embroidered conductive thread in spiral pattern. Delicate and considerable approach to this story would be expressed through making this speaker.
For technology to trigger sound by interaction, I used Bare conductive touch board. This board contains a small SD card that enables users to save sounds, and by code, users can assign different sounds on each node. It reacts with touch sensor, so it can be triggered by many creative ways using conductive materials. I tested with conductive paint, copper tape, and conductive thread. For finalized outcome, 4 women’s silhouettes will be painted with conductive paint, and each time audience touch the silhouette, they can hear each section of the story.
Video Documentation
Materials List
- Fabric Speaker
- Red canvas fabric
- Fusible interfacing
- Conductive thread
- Regular thread
- Embroidery frame
- Needle
- Neodymium magnets
- Amplifier Part
- Adafruit Mono 2.5W Amp
- Headphone cable
- Lithium Polymer battery
- Alligator clips or jumper wires
- Soldering iron & soldering tools
- Battery connection part
- Touch system
- Bare conductive touchboard
- Conductive paint
- Red fabric or paper
- Copper tape
Process, Prototypes, & Diagrams
1. Test touch board
- General : I tested Bare conductive’s touch board. I put different 12 drum sounds into micro SD card chip inside the board, so that each 12 nodes of the board make assigned drum sounds. I plugged in headphone to the board, and I could hear loud and clear sound from the board.
- Finger with direct touch : Firstly I tried to touch directly with my finger to each node.
- Conductive materials : I tried two conductive materials – copper tape and conductive thread. They were all successful.
- Distant sense (proximity) : I tested if the touch board is reacting even if it is not actually touched. It was working, but the distance has to be closer than I expected. I adjusted the value of the proximity in the code, and the maximum distance value was about 5 cm.
- Volume of the sound : It was adjustable in the code.
2. Creating fabric speaker
- The mechanism of this speaker is by creating electromagnet (coil), when audio signal is connected to the either end of this electromagnet, a fluctuating magnetic field forms around it. This magnetic field vibrates, repelling and attracting the fabric to the magnet. The fabric moves the air around it, translating electrical frequencies into audible waves that we can hear.
- For visual consistency, I used red canvas fabric. And to keep fabric stiff and firm, I fixed it into embroidery frame, and also I attached fusible interfacing to the backside of fabric. To make a coil, I couched conductive thread onto fabric with normal thread. To get a louder sound, I tried my best the coil is dense and tight.
3. Soldering Components for amplifier
For amp part, I soldered the connection part for battery to the amp, and also soldered audio cable to the amp. Soldering audio cable was not easy, I should to re-solder several times, and after that, I had to end up with a new amplifier. Audio cable has to be peeled off, and two grounds and two signal parts are in it. The tricky part was, soldering has to be done four times because it needs to connect with each ground and signal first, and then it needs to be soldered to the amp. Once it is soldered, it is already very hard so that it was difficult to double-solder to the amp.
4. Fabrication
For fabrication and exhibition, I made legs for speaker so that it would be attached onto the wall with magnets behind it. I used wood for legs. Also for touch system, I stenciled four women’s silhouettes with conductive paint, connected to each node of touch board where each soundtrack is saved. I stenciled on red papers, and also painted on masking tape so that it would be connected to the board. I was thinking about stenciling directly onto the wall, but after testing, it was very hard to not leave a stain on wall so I should give up that idea. I used copper tape in the near part of touch board in order to make sure to connect to the board firmly.
Feedback, Self-assessment, & Future Iterations
The most common reaction of viewers was a shock. Some of them could not believe this kind of abuse actually happened, and one viewer said he/she was terrified because he/she merely thought DA is happening only between wife and husband. It seems apparent that this project was successful to give an unforgettable impact and impress deeply that this abuse was really happened.
I received feedbacks from viewers that this project is very powerful, and at the same time, very considerately done. That was exact my intention and value. I tried my best to avoid any offensive or uncomfortable elements to survivors, but there was a thing I got feedback about touch system. There is a possibility that touching women’s silhouettes can be misunderstood as touching her body. Even though original intention was to make audience engage more to her story and have empathy for her, touching behavior can be interpreted differently depending on individuals.
About sound itself, I would like to give my efforts to improve sound quality for future iterations. I keep figuring out what method will improve sound quality. Soldering more firmly, trying with different amplifiers, making fabric stiffer, making a coil denser, tighter and larger, and trying LiPo battery with higher capacity are options I am thinking about.
Also, I would like to enhance user experience to more intuitive way. I got feedback that it is not easy to figure out how to use without instruction. I will keep thinking about what would be the best way to guide audience to use this system with minimum instructions.
I self-assesses my project that it could be more successful to evoke empathy for this survivor if I improved exhibition setting as more intimate space. Even though my spot of Major Major show was dark and remote from wide place, there was not enough opportunities to experience this serious story fully. For next iteration, I will make a 3D, intimate space that accommodates only one person at a time in order to make viewers not be disturbed any outside factors. This will enhance more immersive experience, by surrounding a viewer with image of this virtual space, and making them encounter the survivor individually. Also, this private setting can be designed to make the effect of stereo sound with multiple fabric speakers and it will give more intense result.