Waves of Resonance : Sound

Waves of Resonance, 2025 - ongoing
Surround sound, 16 minutes (looped)

Waves of Resonance features marine sounds, including anthropogenic noise, biological and geophonic sounds, recorded in the North Sea and the Arctic. By including sounds that are typically inaudible to human ears, Waves of Resonance aims to stir emotions that strengthen our connection to nature and enact pro-environmental attitudes. The project emerged from a scientific collaboration rooted in research on the psychological impact of listening to marine sounds. It is developed in partnership with environmental psychologist Marine Severin and acoustic ecologist Clea Parcerisas, in the context of the European Marine Board’s EMBracing the Ocean artist-in-residence program, which is an activity under the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

The sound recordings were made using a variety of microphones, including hydrophones and geophones, revealing multiple acoustic dimensions of marine environments. From the North Sea, we hear the sounds of waves, birds, fish, crustacean stridulations, and dolphin whistles. From the Arctic, we can hear seals, whales, the rubbing and melting of sea ice, air bubbles escaping from melting glaciers and vibrations emitted by ice. Anthropogenic noise includes boat sounds from both regions, as well as metallic impacts and pile-driving sounds from the North Sea. 

The sound montage of Waves of Resonance was influenced by research on the psychological impact of listening to marine sounds. This study, conducted in collaboration with Dr. Marine Severin, is based on workshops involving a diverse range of participants in the UK, Belgium and France. Research workshop partners include the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), the Royal College of Art, and La Chapelle Jeanne d’Arc Contemporary Art Centre of National Interest.

Waves of Resonance expresses itself through a series of iterations that continue to evolve over time. Similar to the research workshops, every iteration of the soundpiece will provide new insights, creating a feedback loop of new research for the next iteration of the project.
An iteration of Waves of Resonance is currently presented as a 5 channel surround sound installation in the crypt of La Chapelle Jeanne d’Arc as part of Elise Guillaume’s solo exhibition Par le corps, currently on view until the 21st September, 2025.

"Elise Guillaume’s work bears the imprint of a residency in the Arctic, where the constant awareness of imminent danger lingers everywhere, quietly veiled by the beauty of the landscape — the shimmering of water, the cracking of ice, the song of distant birds... Everything seems calm, at least on the surface, but appearances can be misleading. Our gaze must travel further, descend below the horizon line. Perhaps it is a matter of listening in order to see... of closing one’s eyes. What lies in the ocean’s depths is beyond imagination, and largely inaudible to the human ear. Only highly sensitive hydrophones can detect its traces. What we hear in the crypt is an iteration of Waves of Resonance… The soundscape navigates between the water’s surface and the vastness of the deep sea. The astonishing — yet very real — porosity of our surroundings becomes palpable, as does the violence of certain anthropogenic sounds, such as the thudding reverberations from offshore pile-driving.”

Excerpt from the exhibition text Par le corps (Through the body), Martial Déflacieux, 2025.
This text was originally written in French. English translation by Marie de Ganay.

Production: The research and development of the project were initiated during the EMBracing the Ocean residency program, organised by the European Marine Board, as part of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The project was co-produced by La Chapelle Jeanne d’Arc, Contemporary Art Center of National Interest, with the support of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.
Scientific collaborators : Dr. Clea Parcerisas, Dr. Marine Severin
Research workshop partners: Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), the Royal College of Art, and La Chapelle Jeanne d’Arc Contemporary Art Centre of National Interest.
Cultural research support : Pauline Lisowski (art critic and curator)
Sound recordings : Elise Guillaume, The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), Belgium (2021) : LifeWatch observatory data : Broadband acoustic sensor network in the Belgian Part of the North Sea, and Prof. Michel André, Laboratoire d’Applications Bioacoustiques, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, BarcelonaTech (UPC).
Sound mix: Grady Steele
Special thanks : Britt Alexander, Marie du Chastel, Michael Lunt, and the research workshop participants.

To listen and for more information, please contact: eliseguillaume.studio@gmail.com

Related Press & media
2025
- Waves of Resonance: The psychological impact of marine sounds, EMB Third Thursday Science webinar, Watch a recording here.
- À l’Écoute du Vivant, article par Pauline Lisowski, Revue L’Art Même n°96 (p.31 - p.33)
- The psychological impact of ocean sound with Elise Guillaume, Through Sounds by Anton Spice
2024
- Entretien croisé: Elise Guillaume et Pauline Lisowski, Revue Facettes n°10 – Les intelligences (p.84 - p.93)
- Alice in Warmingland | Last night nature saved my life, The Art Gorgeous, Selection & Text by Alice Audouin
- We all Meet in the Ocean by Anna Souter

With the support of: