MA Thesis

For my MA thesis, I would like to investigate how communities engage with cultural heritage through sound, and how through the preservation of ‘sonic moments’ we might move toward the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. This approach pays homage to the ancient traditions of oral histories and historiographies that shape the south Asian subcontinent, particularly the island of Sri Lanka. By engaging with post-colonial theory and decolonial epistemologies of history and cultural sense-making, the aims of my project are threefold:

  1. Documenting: I would like to conduct a sonic ethnography of natural spaces and everyday cultural practices in Sri Lanka, to better understand the relationship between sound and being. Previous research by Jim Sykes connects sonic engagement with religious sociocultural practices; however, few of these soundscapes have been recorded and archived. To this end, I would like to practice field recording and interview research to better understand the sonic practices that underscore everyday engagement with culture.
  2. Sense-making: Working with existing archives and field recordings, I would like to design a sonic artwork that allows listeners to engage with Sri Lankan cultural heritage in an interactive/embodied way. I am not sure what this work will be yet – but I would like to translate the research into a more accessible engaging format and create a space for community reflection and fellowship.
  3. Research output: I would like to contribute to the small (but growing) conversation on artistic engagement in cultural and heritage spaces. I hope that this work can be featured in interesting spaces such as the museum of modern and contemporary art in Sri Lanka, which has not had any sonic works featured so far. Focused on the idea of communal listening, community engagement and community activation I am interested in how this type of work translates to more traditional forms of research outputs through a written ethnography.

Through the documentation and development of a ‘Sri Lanka’ centred sound archive, I would like to explore the impact of ‘sound-intervention’ on the preservation of cultural heritage. Drawing from acoustic ecology, soundscape studies, cultural preservation, and decolonial theory, I hope to honour a rich history of oral and aural South Asian histories to create a contemporary site of cultural engagement through sound. This type of cultural archive will be unique in the island and will preserve and encourage artists to use the rich sonic heritage that Sri Lanka has to offer.