TIMELINE:
12 DAYS
YEAR:
FEB 2025
ROLE:
UX DESIGNER
Walworth Garden Soundsuit
about.
The Walworth Garden Soundsuit is a sonic and visual intervention by carrying the characteristics of the place and community.
The sounds of the garden are embodied in the suit and are played as the garden moves. The rocks, leaves, grass, and other materials are foraged from the garden and used with other fabrics.
Soundsuit at various locations, layered with a track made from sampled sounds of the Walworth Garden.
brief.
"Design and stage a sonic intervention that amplifies, distorts, or reclaims public space in Walworth. The project calls upon you to make dynamics audible."
research.
Sensory Immersion - Walworth Garden
Walworth Garden, a public commons, had thriving plants and a very welcoming community. We understood more about the place by spending time chatting with the community, smelling plants, listening to the animal sounds, and frequenting the place:
Walworth Garden induction: The induction helped us learn more about the history and functions without utilising a stiff interview format.
Volunteering: One of the team members, Vanashree, volunteered over the weekend and worked on plants.
Talking to staff and students: We learnt about their interests, passion, and background.
Jack, a staff member, showed us sounds in the garden like the Pigsqueak plant.
Observing the community working as volunteers.
The garden animals (foxes, birds, cats) were all relaxed.
AEIOU and Secondary Research
We documented our data and findings with AEIOU and looked into other secondary sources. These helped us develop a stronger understanding of the place for our project.
Data synthesised with AEIOU.
Research from guerrilla gardening, which was how the Walworth Garden was initially established.
sampling.
AEIOU helped us identify sounds from the garden we could sample. We had a variety of low and mid range samples, and one high range sample of parrots. Some of the samples we collected are below (unmute):
Base and mid tones as the rhythm and parrot sounds as the melody (unmute). We found it interesting that the garden had so many sounds that go unnoticed, and creating tracks out of them let us amplify and bring them out purposefully.
process.
Visualising the Suit
We looked up references by other artists, stayed mindful of appropriation of tribal outfits, and leaned towards a visual excess or overgrowth.
Collection of references from various artists such as Cave, N. (2019) et al.
Sketch of outfit elements based on things found in the garden.
Sketch by Vanashree, visualising the overall form.
Sketch done as a group to visualise materials and areas.
Objects from the garden to make sounds.
First suit draft
Based on our sketches, we draped and pinned fabric to visualise the form better (as shown below). This served as good way to have conversations about the elements and form.
We liked the looseness of the poncho top and the asymmetry of the shoulders. The attached leaves were a direction we wanted to continue with. We visualised the bottom as a skirt, but felt it wasn't quite right.
Various views of the initial draft.
Second suit draft
We decided to break the outfit with different fabrics and added gardening elements. As Vanashree had experience in fashion design, she created a small swatch for visualising the overall form and materials.
We preferred the colour and texture of jute for the bottoms. Similar to gardeners, we introduced gloves and a hat.
Swatch created by Vanashree. It incorporated various textures like wool, jute, sponge, moss, grass, leather, leaves, and stones.
High fidelity process
Based on the swatch, we developed the overall suit and accessories:
Blocking areas on the poncho with leather. This was a base for adding materials.
Detailing the leather pieces with moss and rocks to resemble the garden.
Sewing natural things like rocks, mushrooms, leaves, etc. foraged from the Walworth area.
Adding mushroom details to the sleeve to reduce white space and also tie it together with the live mushrooms.
Leaves added to hat, veiling the face kept the focus on the suit and reduced the human aspect.
Gloves with moss and dirt to make them seem in use, similar to the gloves used by volunteers at the garden.
Adding other fabrics, colours, and tassels created interest in the pants and tied together with the overall visual excess.
Abandoned idea of adding footstep sounds in rocks as it was difficult to walk and construct (unmute).
Rock shoe rattles (unmute) made to visually look like plants. The sounds mimic the rocks at the garden.
Work in progress sound suit, we noted gaps for refinement at this stage.
Finished sound suit modelled with a live plant indoors. The leaves, shoe rattles, tassels, and other parts can be heard (unmute).
final outcome.
The people at Walworth Garden expressed delight and said it reflects the garden. The Soundsuit caught attention and people turned to look at it when they heard its sounds. We explored the juxtaposition of the garden in by documenting it in various settings.
The Soundsuit was placed within brutalist interiors to suggest the intrusion of nature into man-made environments.
Soundsuit at E&C park, a privately owned public space. The E&C park contrasts with the way Walworth Garden is governed.
Pedestrian noticing the soundsuit, taking a photo, and conversing with the wearer. We noticed a similar reaction from bikers and drivers as well.
Soundsuit blending in with surroundings at Walworth Garden.
references.
Cave, N. (2019): Soundsuit
Available at: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/156386
Farm Garden website: https://www.farmgarden.org.uk/london
Grassroots Activism website: https://www.amnestyusa.org/get-involved/grassroots-activism/
Middleton, A. (2020): Dune
Available at: https://www.adamjmiddleton.com/dune
Oxford: Grassroots Activism
Available at: https://oxford-review.com/the-oxford-review-dei-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dictionary/grassroots-activism-definition-and-explanation/
Richardson, T. (2015): TfL are Shrinking Our Public Space at Elephant and Castle.
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hkFM-5tfwA
Richardson, T. website: https://www.guerrillagardening.org/
Southwark website: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/culture-and-sport/parks-and-open-spaces/gardening
Thompson, L. (2017): Senseless
Available at: https://www.laura-thompson.net/
Walworth Garden website: https://walworthgarden.org.uk/
Other images referenced in the moodboard:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/34_Squadron_undertake_Live_Fire_Tactical_Training_at_Otterburn_Camp._MOD_45159226.jpg
https://i.etsystatic.com/49684273/r/il/4ad6fc/5739504845/il_1080xN.5739504845_tr9y.jpg
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/A1ZKHTcYGiL._AC_UY1000_.jpg
https://www.socomtactical.net/cdn/shop/files/kmcs-ghillie-suit-green-kicking-mustang-concealment-system-8.png?v=1757015980&width=1214
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/b/be/Swamp_Monster_.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20230930160911
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warriorsofmyth/images/9/94/Swampmonster_0-1-.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120812080854
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSPVp3v0fNxkwt5Lg9Mtwwg5x53U4j__IZjBA&s
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/scoobydoo/images/e/ed/Swamp_monster_%28Monster_of_a_Time%29.png/revision/latest?cb=20170909113506
