Sonoshaping the Frozen Seas: Exploring Sonic Imaginaries in the Polar Sounds Project

Geraint Rhys Whittaker
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Geraint Rhys Whittaker: Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB), University of Oldenburg, Germany / Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany

Ocean and Society, 2026, vol. 3

Abstract: Artists have long shaped cultural imaginaries of the polar regions, and advances in acoustic technologies over recent decades have expanded these imaginaries to include the sounds of the polar seas. Collecting such recordings, however, typically requires specialised equipment and substantial logistical and financial resources, limiting access to those able to travel to the poles. Art–science collaborations therefore play a crucial role in making polar acoustic data accessible for creative interpretation to those unable to visit. This article examines such a project, Polar Sounds, that provided 103 musicians and sound artists from 31 countries with recordings from the Arctic and Antarctic oceans and invited them to compose new works from these materials. Unlike most projects requiring artists to enter the field, Polar Sounds brought the field to them. Using interviews with 63 participating artists, the study investigates how their imaginaries of the polar seas evolved through engagement with the acoustic data. By tracing the artists’ interpretive journeys, this article explores what artistic creativity can reveal about how non‐polar scientists come to know and then reimagine polar worlds, as well as how sound offers unique spatial perspectives for understanding representations of the ocean.

Keywords: art–science; ocean communication; polar sounds; science communication; sonic imaginaries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:ocesoc:v3:y:2026:a:11424

DOI: 10.17645/oas.11424

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