Celestial Sound Cloud

A beautiful digital sound and light installation hung from the trees or structures to create a space where audience discover a galaxy of voice and illumination.


How it works
When the audience move beneath eye sensors hidden in the cloud, they will activate one part of a vocal harmony and a special light moment. Audience can trigger up to 5 movement sensors interacting with the cloud and dancing to play it like an instrument.

The sound is artist Eleanor Hooper’s voice.  Each sensor/light/audio unit emits a single tone or melody that can be sustained or played like a rhythm by the audience – depending on how they wish to move. When all 5 notes are activated it will make a chord or a melody. There is a cycle of chords to stimulate different moods and atmospheres.

2020

We have a set touring version of the Celestial Sound Cloud, alongside continuing to develop larger and more ambitious versions for bespoke and longer term installations. Please contact us to find out more

Installation

The Celestial Sound Cloud can be installed from 3 or 4 rigging points. These can be mature trees, a combination of mature trees and guyed legs or now completely freestanding trusses.

Indoor, we have had great success hanging the peice from Church Columns – a perfect setting for mid winter.

Collaboration with your musicians

In 2019 at Goole Junction Arts, we premiered a new system of uploading music created by musicians from the host venue to the Sound Cloud, allowing the local audience to enjoy this special work and in this case the choir who make the music to sing along with themselves.

Where has it been?

Co-commissioned by Kendal Calling and Walk The Plank in 2016, Celestial Sound Cloud has since toured to Winchester Cathedral/Woolly Hat Fair, Brilliant Vauxhall, Bournemouth Arts by the Sea, Deershed , Greenbelt, Leeds Light Night, Brilliant Barnsley, Illuminate Festival Oldham, Nottingham Light Night and WOMAD amongst many others.

Collaborators:
Technologist – Kyle Hirani – featured on Channel 4’s major documentary about RustySquid
Composer – Chris Davies and Chiv Chevalier
Rigging and fabrication – Pete Gunson

For The Celestial Sound Cloud’s up and coming shows please see our dates page.   

For further information or to book, please get in touch.

Where it comes from –

The Celestial Sound Cloud explores the relationship between nature and technology, and asks whether human symbiosis with technology can draw us closer to nature by play.
The fibre optics (supported by starscape) and movement sensors have been chosen to reflect technologies that are employed in our age towards actions/policies of fear and hope and subtly ask if we need to grasp for the stars in desperation of creating a new eden or can we keep our feet firmly planted on planet earth and playfully recover communication with our nature.

The Celestial Sound Cloud was originally commissioned in 2016 by Kendal Calling. At the debut we saw audience acting as we hoped, filtering in and out of the space creating new groups, moods ebbing and flowing and a creating a sense of beauty, discovery and the creation of a special space.

What people are saying:

“We were delighted to have Pif-Paf’s Celestial Sound Cloud installed inside St James Church for the second Spilsby Light Night in the Lincolnshire Wolds in March 2020. Pete was an absolute star in every aspect of installing the Sound Cloud and the response from our audiences – and from the church itself – was extremely positive. People were fascinated and amazed by it and it created exactly the kind of buzz we were hoping for. Massive thanks to the Pif-Paf team!”

Simon Hollingworth – Spilsby Light Night

For all Celestial Sound Cloud’s up and coming shows please see our dates page. 

To book, or for further information, please get in touch.