Deep Listening to the Unheard
A socially engaged sound art project and exhibition at Brighton Festival 2024 from the young people of Whitehawk and East Brighton, and artist Simon James, who was born and raised in Whitehawk and education campaign group Class Divide.
Explored through the deep time history of the Neolithic in East Brighton and the contemporary soundscape of Whitehawk, the Neolithic Cannibals exhibition mixes archaeology, psycho-geography, sound art, and activism to transport audiences to a place where imaginative and fantastical sounds will invite deep listening to an area that can often be considered hidden and unheard.
Through a series of workshops the young people of Whitehawk will listen to and sound the contemporary environment of East Brighton using the Whitehawk Hill Neolithic Camp, discovered in 1929 through a geophysical listening technique known as Bosing, as a symbolic focal point and inspiration for their sonic explorations.
The Neolithic Cannibals exhibition at Lighthouse will recreate the Neolithic Camp - a place of communion, celebration and ritual, as a compassionate listening space inviting audiences to discover Whitehawk's richness, joy, playfulness and hope, empowering local voices through rarely explored sonic expressions. Audiences will leave with a deeper appreciation for empathetic listening, and consider the power of collective effort and the part we all play in addressing complex and current social issues.