Hyperwilding: Sonic Perplexity as Urban Acupuncture to Promote Environmental Kinship

Shomit Barua

Hyperwilding: Sonic Perplexity as Urban Acupuncture to Promote Environmental Kinship
Image credit: Shomit Barua

Abstract:

This paper invites discussion of how sound art installations, specifically those situated in urban environments, can serve as respite from urban stressors as well as advocate for increased awareness and engagement of acoustic ecology. The author invokes the theoretical framework of Karen Barad to juxtapose the Urban Acupuncture movement with the Solarpunk ethos, arguing that sound installations may be crafted as agential cuts to the entangled relationship of humans and their built environments. This paper surveys sound artists that have specifically engaged the urban space—an environment that one could argue is more “natural” to humans than the remote picturesque landscapes commonly associated with the concept. Finally, the author describes some of his past sonic interventions and expounds on his current project, “Standing Wave,” commissioned by the city government and non-profits to address Extreme Urban Heat. He discusses how this installation, coupled with targeted community engagement through “Environmental Listening” workshops, urges us to rethink the temporality of intervention, recognizing that long-term strategies, while not immediate solutions, are crucial for future cooling and remediating the effects of climate change.