I wanted something to get up above it all, and I did it more literally than most people - I took up gliding. Flying is like entering another dimension; your body becomes flexible and gravity lets go. I once flew through a cloud thinking it would be warm and fluffy, but it was ice cold. In the sky there are always discoveries.
Introduction
That day, when June Callwood decided to divert her glider through a bank of clouds, it was out of a sense of curiosity, bravery and defiance. But it was also an act of escape and retreat. For her, learning to fly was partly a reaction to difficult events in her personal life, pressures that led to her to seek out the moments of contemplation and escape that gliding could offer.
As a public artwork, OKTA takes this moment and translates it into a sonic experience - providing a shifting cloud of sound in June Callwood Park that visitors themselves are invited to step into.
The Site
In 2005, the City of Toronto dedicated a new park space to the memory of Canadian journalist and activist June Callwood to honour her legacy in the development of social aid organizations in the city.
The award winning design of the park is by Toronto landscape architects gh3. The idea for the park begins with a quote from an interview with June Callwood just before her death - I believe in kindess - . The sonic waveform of the recording is physically mapped on the site to create an unique pattern of openings and clearings throughout the park.
Field Sound
As Field Sound, Steve Bates and Douglas Moffat bring together backgrounds in visual art, experimental music and landscape architecture to collaborate on outdoor audio installations. Our working methods combine research and site-specific investigation with an ear for fascinating sonic potentials. Over multiple projects, the physical form, experience of site and cultural context are blended together to form multi-sensory installations that reward repeated visits and extended listening.
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