Tuesday – Friday (11am – 3pm)
Three sound installations feature throughout Week of Sound 2026.
A pair of sound installations (Installation #1, #2) are located in Alison House. These installations each last between 10–20 minutes, and they will play on a continuous rotation. Attendees are welcome at the following times:
- Days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (17–19 February)
- Times: 11am–3pm each day
- Location: Alison House Atrium, 12 Nicholson Square
- Tickets: Eventbrite links below
A third sound installation (Installation #3) will run in the Sculpture Court in ECA Main Building.
- Days: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (17–19 February)
- Times: 11am–3pm each day
- Location: ECA Main Building, Sculpture Court
- Tickets: Eventbrite links below
Installation #1: Movements (by Roderick Buchanan-Dunlop)
Movements (Eventbrite tickets) is an audio-visual installation that uses sounds and images captured from analogue wristwatch movements to explores scale and our relationship with time.
Movements is an audio-visual installation that takes the audience on a journey into the miniature machinery that powers an analogue wristwatch. Sounds so faint they cannot normally be heard by the human ear and images of objects so fine that they cannot be seen with the naked eye are used to offer a unique perspective on the inner world of these everyday objects. The piece explores ideas of scale and time, from the planetary orbits of the solar system to the intricate mechanisms developed over hundreds of years by skilled watch makers to represent these celestial interactions.
The tension between natural time and the mean time that we now adhere to is revealed and used as an example of the increasing complex relationship we have with time itself. The piece is realised using a technique where reflected laser light is used to record sounds in incredible detail. This technology allows the usually unnoticed ‘tick’ of a watch to be expanded into a palette of sounds not heard before. These remarkable sounds are complimented by images captured using microscope technology to complete the work.
The installation itself consists of two screens and speakers surrounding the audience who will be in near darkness.
The piece runs on a loop repeating approximately every 10min.
Installation #2: Sound of Southside (by Elaine Cheng)
Sound of Southside (Eventbrite tickets) is an installation piece recorded and made in the Southside area of Edinburgh. Originally a community engagement project through Art27 Scotland and the Culture Collective, Elaine Cheng led the Edinburgh Chinese community to create this 4.1 sound installation piece.
Participants learned how to freely improvise on their instrument/object through various exercises and games as well as embarking on curated soundwalks and capturing its sonic environment. Participants also shared their experiences of living in Edinburgh as their new home.
The final piece was premiered at the inaugural Festival of Migration in 2023 at the Southside Community Centre.
Installation #3: 900 Voices (by Zoë Irvine, Jules Rawlinson, and Lindsay Perth)
900 Voices (Eventbrite tickets) is a spatial sound art installation. The work was commissioned in 2024 to celebrate the 900th anniversary of Edinburgh’s St. Giles Cathedral. The work ran in the Cathedral throughout the Edinburgh International Festival in 2024 and was visited by over 3000 people. The work is restaged here in the ECA Sculpture Court, which has a similar acoustic character to the Cathedral.
This installation also features in our Opening Concert.