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Organ of Corti

Organ of Corti is an experimental instrument that filters the sounds around it into new listening experiences. The piece invokes the disciplines of music; sound, land-, and installation art, acoustic ecology, and acoustics, offering insights in these domains.

Organ of Cortiis devised not by means of creating new sounds, but by steering the ear to reconsider the often unwanted sounds already present in its immediate environment. The idea of mediating acoustic behaviour has precedent in the work of Lucier, Cage and Asher and has certain parallels with the visual art of James Turrell and the ideas of Tim Ingold. However, this work explores distinctly new relationships between visitor, site and sound and utilises previously unexplored technologies to pursue this end. It was devised by liminal (Frances Crow and David Prior), and is based on an array cylinders arranged as a ‘sonic crystal’, in a design made in collaboration with Prof. Keith Attenborough (OU). The project is represented here as a portfolio comprising photographs, a short video, an exhibition catalogue and two journal articles, which explore some of the research themes underlying the work.

The project’s contribution to new ways of thinking about music was recognised by the PRS New Music Award, who substantially funded the project. The piece was also shortlisted for the Phonogia Nova sound art award (2012). The Wellcome Trust, who recognised the project’s contribution to the debate around sound, health and wellbeing, funded early researcht. The piece won the John Connell Innovation Award (2011) for contribution to this area. Organ of Corti pioneers the use of sonic crystal arrays in art, an innovation recognised by an honorary mention at Prix Ars Electronica 2012. It has received extensive press coverage and featured on both Sky Arts and BBC TV. Prior and Crow contributed equally to this work.