ROSHNI BHAGOTRA - SOUND OF HOUNSLOW - TRANSIT Tonalities IN SITU (Outdoor EXHIBITION)

Saturday 18 April, 12 Noon - 8pm

This outdoor exhibition brings together different voices, memories, personal histories and shared experiences through a central soundscape. Using storytelling to explore the everyday, familiar and obscure sounds of Hounslow. Developed in collaboration with the local community, the work invites viewers to listen and tune into the rhythms and tones that shape how we move, connect and remember our environments.

The exhibition unfolds through three interconnected themes emerging as key auditory signals through searching for the sound of Hounslow. Themes related to the landscape, skyscapes, transit, ecosystems and musical heritage, each reflect a different part of the sonic landscape in Hounslow and the way we experience place, movement and belonging.

Across creative sessions, conversations, sound walks and community podcast recording sessions, participants contributed their stories, took part in field recordings, reflections and collective improvisations.

Emerging from maps and navigation systems as a starting point and site of sonic investigation, geolocations and markers of sonic activity across the borough, on land, water and sky became a reference point for capturing sound.

Evoking stories of travel and transit across the globe whilst bringing attention to unique and often underrepresented sounds of Hounslow. Echoed across the themes, migration and the influence of transit becomes a central narrative throughout the journey of the humble Parakeet, the increased presence of international air travel and the roots of the borough's infamous musical heritage and musicians.

Through sound walks, recording exercises, storytelling and listening circles, the composition became collaborative and participants reflected on their lived experience and sonic identities of Hounslow. These exchanges formed the foundation of the soundscape presented alongside a reimagining of various sound maps through analogue and digital navigation technologies and systems.

This work invites you to pause, listen and consider the familiar and at times obscure sounds that are present around us in new ways. Sitting within and alongside the community, environmental sound becomes part of the exhibition, blurring the boundaries between premeditated sounds and those within natural surroundings.

At its core, this work is about recognising listening as a shared, communal act and sound as a way of connecting to place, story and one another.

Local community groups contributed to this exhibition such as the Hounslow exhibition collective, who co-created the exhibition brief and took part in recordings, and also the Hounslow podcast collective who participated and supported community podcast recordings.

The Hounslow Exhibitions Collective is a panel of local people, artists and library staff who select and curate part of the visual arts programme.

The Hounslow podcast collective was a group of local people interested in different ways to learn about podcasting and how to get started with creating them.

Presented by Watermans and curated by Klio Krajewska

Watermans gratefully acknowledges the contribution of Creative People and Places Hounslow towards the development and preparation of this project, especially establishing links with local communities in Hounslow.

About Roshni Bhagotra:

Roshni Bhagotra is a multidisciplinary artist, DJ and arts educator who works with sound, radio, podcasting, installation, moving image and performance practices. Her work is often exhibited in site specific interventions and scenarios, enabling the audience to experience her work in unexpected ways in and outside traditional gallery spaces. Her interest in sound, storytelling and broadcast practices also informs her practice led research into sound practices, the voice, storytelling and community in public and private spaces.