The Sound Eater

A sound-consuming serpent has ventured into the Toronto Sculpture Garden. Hungry, it ate various sounds from its surrounding. Its body now visibly holds sounds from a streetcar, the St. James Church bells, ringing chimes, and a bird as it digests its meal. The Sound Eater is data visualization of the Toronto Sculpture Garden’s soundscape. The serpent’s spine mirrors audio waves from specific events, with the height of each segment corresponding to the amplitude of recorded sounds. Audio recordings from the garden were analyzed and applied to a parametric design for the sculpture’s shape. The data visualization is comprised of the urban, natural and cultural sounds that make up the chaotic, vibrant and contradictory soundscape of downtown Toronto. Visitors are invited to walk around the serpent, opening their attention to the audible world around them and feel a connection to the moment and space they are inhabiting.

Meghan Cheng is a violinist and new media artist based in Toronto, Canada.  Her work integrates live performance, data and interactive technologies. She creates immersive installations and screen-based work where sound, image and data respond to one another in real time.  Central to her practice is the idea that technology can be a tool for connection and a heightened awareness of our physical surroundings. By designing systems that generate visuals and sonic responses in real time, she aims to create spaces in which the audience is both witness and participant, focusing on the interplay between performer, instrument, and system. Cheng’s work has been presented in galleries, festivals, concerts and theatre performances, where she explores how technology can bring our attention to the current moment and our surroundings.

Managed by the City of Toronto, the Toronto Sculpture Garden serves as a dynamic platform for artists to work experimentally in a public setting.