Epoch

in ‘Unearthing’

Above: ‘Unearthing’, exhibition view and close shots of photography by Ed Sykes, Lake, London, 2024.

Above: Epoch, soundscape by Delilah Sykes, pre-spatialised raw audio.

Epoch is a sound piece inspired by and made in collaboration with the photography of Ed Sykes for the exhibition ‘Unearthing’ at Lake, London.

It explores erosion and the concept of deep time.

Epoch was created using field recordings made in and around a pillbox featured in the photography of Ed Sykes. Also recorded are a series of sound interventions where singing and vocalisations were made within the concrete structure.

These field recordings were distorted and the voice was used to create drones.

Lake’s 7.1 surround-sound system with 8 speakers was used to intricately spatialise the sound. This focused on the placement and movement of sound in the gallery space, with the help of sound technician Nishant Shukla.

Structured in three acts, Epoch drives progressively deeper into deep time. It was made alongside close readings of the Donna Haraway, exploring human enmeshment with the non-human and the natural world.