Elise Guillaume is a Belgian artist exploring the interplay of psychology, ecology and notions of care. During her EMBracing the Ocean residency, Elise Guillaume focussed on creating a sonic project 'Waves of Resonance' that addresses the psychological impact of climate change and the therapeutic potential of ocean sounds. The project is in collaboration with Marine Severin (Flanders Marine Institute), a psychologist who researches the positive effects of coastal landscapes on mental well-being. They led workshops at the Royal College of Art (London) and VLIZ (Belgium) where participants engage with the evolving sound piece to enrich the creative process and generate valuable data that shaped the soundscape’s final output, while advancing scientific research. In collaboration with acoustic ecologist Clea Parcerisas (Flanders Marine Institute), the project addresses the critical issue of underwater noise pollution by capturing an extensive range of above and below water sounds using various microphones. Additionally, Elise also used photography to document the coastal landscape and the scientific recording processes. As done in previous works of hers, she developed the photographs using seaweed; a low-toxicity alternative to conventional photographic practice. The research journey of the project finds expression in a printed publication, a research podcast, a video interview and a scientific paper. The project raises awareness about the sonic impact of climate change and foster a deep emotional connection with the ocean to inspire pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours and the final piece is currently being exhibited at La Chapelle Jeanne d’Arc Centre d’Art Contemporain d’Intérêt National in Thouars, France.
Find out more about the EMBracing the Ocean programme here.
You can register for the webinar here, and it will also be live-streamed on the EMB YouTube Channel.