Harsh Noise Queensland

HARSH NOISE QUEENSLAND is a collection of six photographs and six companion films. The imagery has been distorted via a feedback loop of the audio found within. The films feature recordings of that audio running through an oscilloscope.

On a recent trip to Far North Queensland I visited many beautiful places full of history and natural wonder, but I also found it to be an immensely gothic place. Death stalks throughout in so many guises whether through flora or fauna or the historical violence that hangs heavy in the air.

Using a process called “Data-bending”, I placed six photos from my trip into Audacity, a Digital Audio Workstation where I was able to manipulate the waveform created by each image.

The distorted, degraded images in this collection were created by turning that manipulated audio waveform back into an image file.

From there, I took the new audio file and used a granular synthesizer to further manipulate the waves, adding new shapes and sounds by experimenting with a series of low frequency oscillators.

Once I had the new audio, I then placed that into an oscilloscope to visualise it again, but this time as a moving waveform.

HNQ // 01 - THE LOW ISLES

An island with a history of madness. Lead poisoning destroyed the minds of the early lighthouse keepers whilst the current caretakers are subject to all manner of mental and physical brutality thanks to the weather, wildlife and loneliness.

HNQ // 02 - CROCODILE

A violent death awaits anyone who encounters these beasts. This image was taken of the amazing but abandoned mosaic on the wall of the Kuranda Aboriginal Co-Operative Society.

HNQ // 03 - TALAROO

This is a natural spring on land reclaimed by the Ewamian people. They now run it as a campground and spa. This particular spring was the site of an atrocity wherein a blak victim of assault was drowned by the white perpetrators. Her body never recovered.

HNQ // 04 - SKULL

The skull of a horse found in the outback. One of many gothic decorations littered around a bar in Undara.

HNQ // 05 - TOAD CORPSE

In 1935 there were 102 cane toads in Australia. There are now more than 200 million. A blight on the crops and wildlife, their predators have had to evolve new and horrific ways to kill them without being poisoned. For the birds, this mostly involves picking them up, flying them to great heights and then dropping them to splat on the ground.

HNQ // 06 - THE LAVA TUBE

This is a Lava Tube in Undara. These ancient volcanic tunnels run below the outback and what remains of the rainforest. The roots from the trees make their way into the caves, filling them with carbon dioxide. If you go too deep, you suffocate.

View the original images and the soundscapes on Instagram

Cheers for reading,

Like, comment and subscribe etc.

Jonathan ✌️

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