Clastic Resonance, 2025
Dimensions: 8m length x 6m width
An interactive multi-channel haptic installation, comprised of (5) ‘Riyadh Sandstone’ boulders on a plain of sand, each resonating with low-frequency sounds recorded from the vast urban development that Saudi Arabia is currently undertaking.
Using contact transducers embedded in the sandstone, the installation transform each stone into an resonant body. The highly localized transmission of sound, barely perceptible at distance, requires the audience to reveal the sonic nature of the installation by interacting with the materiality of each natural form; placing their hands or body against the stones to perceive the resonance, reshaping the act of listening, from an auditory experience into a haptic, embodied encounter.
Experiencing Riyadh’s soundscape, Brooks became increasingly aware of how sound marks a place—most notably through the call to prayer, a cultural phenomenon unfamiliar to him back home. This heightened sensitivity made him more attuned to the city’s rapid physical transformation and the sonic impressions it leaves in its wake. He started questioning how the sounds of construction and industry impinge upon the natural landscape. What traces do these activities leave behind, not just in memory but in material. This project examines that relationship by using Riyadh sandstone—an enduring geological presence—as a surface that carries the low-frequency resonances of urban expansion. By transmitting these vibrations through stone, the work shifts listening beyond the auditory and into a haptic experience. Visitors engage directly, pressing hands or ears against the surface to perceive the ephemeral echoes of a changing city. The project negotiates the relationship between the enduring natural material landscape and the transient sonic nature of a city in flux, inviting reflection on the anthropogenic impressions left upon the land.
Exhibited. as part of the inagural Diriyah Arts Futures: Emerging New Media Artists 2025, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Dimensions: 8m length x 6m width
An interactive multi-channel haptic installation, comprised of (5) ‘Riyadh Sandstone’ boulders on a plain of sand, each resonating with low-frequency sounds recorded from the vast urban development that Saudi Arabia is currently undertaking.
Using contact transducers embedded in the sandstone, the installation transform each stone into an resonant body. The highly localized transmission of sound, barely perceptible at distance, requires the audience to reveal the sonic nature of the installation by interacting with the materiality of each natural form; placing their hands or body against the stones to perceive the resonance, reshaping the act of listening, from an auditory experience into a haptic, embodied encounter.
Experiencing Riyadh’s soundscape, Brooks became increasingly aware of how sound marks a place—most notably through the call to prayer, a cultural phenomenon unfamiliar to him back home. This heightened sensitivity made him more attuned to the city’s rapid physical transformation and the sonic impressions it leaves in its wake. He started questioning how the sounds of construction and industry impinge upon the natural landscape. What traces do these activities leave behind, not just in memory but in material. This project examines that relationship by using Riyadh sandstone—an enduring geological presence—as a surface that carries the low-frequency resonances of urban expansion. By transmitting these vibrations through stone, the work shifts listening beyond the auditory and into a haptic experience. Visitors engage directly, pressing hands or ears against the surface to perceive the ephemeral echoes of a changing city. The project negotiates the relationship between the enduring natural material landscape and the transient sonic nature of a city in flux, inviting reflection on the anthropogenic impressions left upon the land.
Exhibited. as part of the inagural Diriyah Arts Futures: Emerging New Media Artists 2025, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.