The Engine Room @ Morley Gallery
Sound is often used to augment physical art. It’s a helpful way to set the tone of a large sculptural intervention, it’s most commonly used to enhance immersive experiences, and sometimes it’s simply the byproduct noises created by mechanical moving parts. What is rare, however, is the opportunity to experience sound, and only sound, as art.
The Engine Room was an exhibition of sound art selected from a global open call that received over 170 submissions. Though a few of the installations incorporated visually enticing displays, the bulk of the works didn’t offer anything to see other than a pair of white headphones hanging on the wall next to a description. That’s just as it should be when the main focus of a show is to listen, not look.
And listen I did.
The brilliance of sound as art is that with nothing to see there won’t be any visual clues implanted in your head, which means the experience of each and every listener will be entirely unique even though everyone hears the same thing. It’s practically impossible for humans not to visualise, and as much as I like sharing art with others, I love knowing that what I personally experienced was a private moment just for me.
Chelidon Frame’s ‘Real Aliens Are In Vegas’ sounded like a movie score from a sci-fi adventure, but what those aliens were doing and how they appeared was entirely up to me. Similarly, Joanna Strogatz’s ‘That Confident Look’, a rhythmic kung fu soundscape with a spoken audio interview about her martial arts experience, seeded just enough info in my head to start me down a path that had limitless destinations.
The write-ups of the works, clear and succinct and devoid of technical jargon and art-speak babble, helpfully explained the inspiration that drove each of the artists to create their soundscapes. Except in many cases you’ll wonder how they got from there to what’s in your ear. If Verona Wusatiuk’s ‘Koffeeskapes Vol I’ is what I were to hear when my favourite barista makes my espresso then I’m not so sure we’d be on a first name basis. Still, it’s fascinating to read that her work was inspired by a love of coffee.
Similarly, many of the artists seem to have created what I can only describe as abstract sound effects that significantly augmented and re-worked their source recordings. Some were soothing, some were jarring, and a surprising number felt uplifting. David Snow’s “fetish object” (a 45rpm record on a Moroccan hand drum) spit out a syncopation of human-made sounds that ranged from laughter to crying to funny farm noises. It was a lot of fun to listen to, and made me visualise a drunken singalong at a hippie family picnic.
For those visitors willing to literally stand in the spotlight there were multiple installations that encircled the listener with eight speakers, creating a true surround sound experience for anyone standing in the middle. And for those who enjoy actually seeing how sounds are made in real time, there were some visually amusing kinetic installations including a wall of bass that slowly topples giant matchsticks, a series of spinning wood chimes, and a water-based work that reminded me of the drinking bird toy.
The range of work from the 26 finalists was a refreshing reminder of just how transformative audio-only experiences — that aren’t songs, podcast or audiobooks — can be. Shows like this are far too rare in the art world, but I’ll be keeping my ear to the ground, eagerly listening for news about the next one.
Plan your visit
‘The Engine Room’ ran from 28 April - 16 May 2025.
Visit morleygallery.com and follow @morleygallery on Instagram for more info about the venue.
Visit engineroomlondon.org/competition/ for more information about the open call competition.
Want more London art news and reviews?
Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter. It’s FREE!