Adi Laflamme, University of Victoria, British Columbia

Adi's presentation* explores the function sound plays in the formation of memory, what influence spatial audio used in Virtual Reality (VR) applications could have in facilitating opportunities for the mediation of memorable sonic encounters, and what sound can reveal about our experience of conflict. This is accomplished through the creation of a VR adaptation of a multimedia sculpture, “The Witness Blanket,” created by artist and indigenous scholar, Carey Newman, to memorialize experiences of indigenous survivors of Canadian Residential Schools. This research presents a creative way of using auditory storytelling to transmute post-colonial conflict, calling into question the many factors which colour our experience of sound, and how our sonic perceptions shape our reality.

*Please note, all presentations are for academic and research viewing purposes only and cannot be posted in the public domain or used in part or full on any other media platforms or social media sites.   All rights are reserved and held by Participants. For more information regarding licensing/permisssions usage and queries, please contact our Project Manager, Christina Captieux c.captieux@qub.ac.uk  

The Conference was organised as part of the AHRC/ESRC funded Partnership for Conflict, Crime and Security Research project Sounding Conflict: From Resistance to Reconciliation 2017-2021.