At Land and Sea

The Witness Tree is a site-specific, spatial audio installation, and an elegy to unheard histories. Drawing inspiration from the ‘witness trees’ that have silently observed centuries of human history, this piece reimagines the tree as both archivist and storyteller.

Composed from sonic artefacts retrieved from old reel-to-reel tapes, The Witness Tree unravels as an autofiction—its voice a spectral patchwork of lost transmissions, forgotten voices, and echoes of distant events. Suspended from its branches, 16 speakers whisper fragmented recollections, inviting visitors to engage in an intimate act of listening. 

As participants lift the speakers to their ears, they become entangled in the tree’s memory, piecing together a narrative that shifts between the personal and the political, the ephemeral and the eternal.

Through this immersive encounter, The Witness Tree exposes the hidden sonorities of place, time, and decay—urging us to reconsider our relationship with history, nature, and the overlooked soundscapes that surround us.

The Witness Tree (Stereo Mix)

All sounds recorded from the Centre for Arts & Wellbeing event 'Commoning Sound: AmbiMuse in Brighton', which took place in June 2025.

Commoning Sound

Brighton-based musician, sound designer and artist.

Joe Davin

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