Flat Holm: a sensory voyage
Lead artist, Glenn Davidson (Artstation), commissioned writer, Wyn Mason, and poet, Philip Gross, and collaborated with Mike Fedeski on soundscapes and recording, and with Mark Palmer on drone filming and the creation of the point cloud island interactive map. Rob Owen and Sue Rice (BRO) managed the project.
Notebook: 23rd Jan 2021:
we see a field of wind picking over the island,
the ocean wave field, comb around the coast
the electromagnetic field soar overhead
the islands natural born form presents its eternal truth.
A perennial force, the affairs of men run counter and through somehow,
deflecting the wind,
denouncing the waves
disrupting the cosmic field.
Films
Monologues
Wyn Mason – Writer
Doughnuts:
Following our short residency on the island, Wyn wrote a series of Welsh monologues to liberate ‘voices’ of island heritage. The monologues feature in the films, directly speaking to the viewer while slowly circling around each location like a doughnut.
Below: English texts and recordings by voice over artists Eiry Thomas and Matthew Gravelle.
Poems
Philip Gross – Poet
Zooms:
Philip lives in Penarth overlooking the Bristol Channel. Out of the residency, he lays down an over-arching context we hear while the camera zooms from high, down to each historic site.
Below: More poetry about Flat Holm by Philip, more riches than we could possibly use in the film edits.
Soundscapes from the island
The collaboration with Mike Fedeski on soundscaping has developed over many years. Flat Holm has been a wondrous opportunity to hone and invigorate our skills. One such intervention required building a stereo hydrophone for a bamboo fishing rod – you can hear this on the Tide In And Out and Underwater soundscapes.
Best listened to on earphones with eyes closed.
Artists’ visit
with Wyn Mason (writer), Philip Gross (poet), Glenn Davidson and Mike Fedeski (sound artists)
The Singing Lighthouse
A boat journey with Trinity House Engineers to Flat Holm’s heritage beacon.
10th May 2022
Firstly, contact mics were used to listen in to the mechanics of the boat engine and binaural earphones helped us listen to the seascape at the boat’s bow, cutting across the waves.
Later inside the lighthouse, we used a binaural head to capture the eerie sounds of winds and echoes as we climbed up to the massive glass lantern and out onto the high parapet.
Above: Audio: Section Soundscapes – The Lighthouse Soundscape 1
Below: Click to read more about the voice of the lighthouse…
Podcasts
Three podcasts were created early in the process, helping me understand the significance of the 1897 transmission and the isolation role that Flat Holm played during the cholera outbreak, viewed through the lens of COVID-19. My kayaking followed the same route, commemorating the world’s first over water transmission.
Interview: Local historian, Glyn Jones, paints a picture of the key figures assembled on the beach at Lavernock for the world-changing first transmission over water.
Interview: Recorded on the island near the cholera hospital, with NHS palliative care and infectious diseases experts, the pandemic is viewed through the lens of recent COVID-19.
Podcast: I paddle from Lavernock to Flat Holm by sea kayak with Dr Tavi Murray, an experienced paddler of the powerful water wave-field in the Severn Estuary.
Gallery
The following pictures document three independent journeys to the island. The first was to create the podcast about the cholera hospital.
Cholera hospital
with Andrew Freedman, Mark Taubert (Anwyn and Idris), Glynn and Wyn
Gun
A recording from Crownhill Fort, Plymouth, with Mike Fedeski of a test firing of the only remaining working Moncrieff Gun in the UK, which features in the film, GUN.
Sculpture
Radio Flat Holm
Radio Flat Holm commissioned by Cardiff City Council for Cardiff Bay barrage and was installed July 2024 as part of ‘A Walk Through Time’ National Lottery Heritage Fund restoration of Flat Holm Island’s historic heritage.
The sculpture, designed by Cardiff based artist Glenn Davidson (Artstation), is made from reclaimed Jarrah ironwood; a material originally imported during the Victorian period from Malaysia or Southeast Asia for use as railway sleepers. This recycled material connects and communicates a sense of heritage whilst celebrating the globally significant origin of modern radio transmission technology, tested here in Wales between Lavernock and Flat Holm in1897.
We hope Radio Flat Holm will form an enduring commemorative legacy for the city, a great photo opportunity for visitors as well as signposting the existence of Flat Holm Island, usually visible from the sculpture’s location.
The sculpture was made using a combination of CADCAM** and hand carving by Boyesen Design in Llangrannog
Big thanks to the artists, Cardiff Council and NLHF for funding the project.
** computer aided design computer aided manufacture
Flag walk
Designed to compliment Radio Flat Holm by Glenn Davidson 2024
Flag Walk is a processional waymark featuring colourful nautical flags which spell out a message on Cardiff Barrage walkway.
Work is scheduled to start autumn 2024.