I came up with the idea for this project when I was a tour guide at Raufarholshellir lava tube. One of the participants of the trip was a blind person. She explored the cave not through her eyes – like most visitors – but listened to its sounds. I was fascinated by how different the reception was. So I thought: most people know what Iceland looks like. But how many people know what Iceland sounds like?

That experience made me decide to collect sounds and create an audio map of the island. The sound here is rich. However, I quickly realized that szum/niður – the noise is prevailing.

The beginning of sound collection coincided with the global lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, which is why most of the places visited were empty. This void was thrilling, but it gave animals and nature space to finally speak, undisturbed and unpolluted.

This is work in progress. For the best experience I recommend listening to the sounds with headphones on.
Enjoy,
Kaśka Paluch
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