Yara Mekawei, Scratching, details sound performance including co-curator Kwasi Ohene-Ayeh, Eva Maria Ocherbauer 2017.
Born Egypt (1987), lives and works in Cairo, Egypt
Scratching 2017
sound art project and performance
Courtesy of the artist
This science analyzes noise transmission from a building exterior envelope to interior and vice versa. The main noise paths are roofs, eaves, walls, windows, doors and penetrations. Sufficient control ensures space functionality and is often required based on building use and local municipal codes. An example would be providing a suitable design for a home which is to be constructed close to a high volume roadway or under the flight path of a major airport or of the airport itself.
It is the science of limiting and/or controlling noise transmission from one building space to another to ensure space functionality and speech privacy. The typical sound paths are ceilings, room partitions, acoustic ceiling panels (such as wood dropped ceiling panels), doors, windows, flanking, ducting and other penetrations. Technical solutions depend on the source of the noise and the path of acoustic transmission, for example noise by steps or noise by (air, water) flow vibrations. An example would be providing a suitable party wall design in an apartment complex to minimize the mutual disturbance due to noise by residents in adjacent apartments.
Scratching is a sound art project that has two phases. The first comprises recording the ambient sound of a “Ilukwe” house in Lagos city, a house which has a historic background and stamping in the society’s memory of the country; Lagos is a city in the Nigerian state of Lagos. The city, with its adjoining conurbation, is the largest in Nigeria, as well as on the African continent. It is one of the fastest growing in the world and also one of the most populous urban agglomerations. The second phase consisted of maximizing the voice of the body through sensitive microphones of Kwasi.
