Mansfield Sounds - immersive audio project
Mansfield Sounds
Mansfield Sounds is an immersive audio experience I created for Mansfield Palace Theatre as part of the Gaia installation by Luke Jerram. Developed in collaboration with actor Michael Lambourne, the project was designed to deepen audiences’ sense of place, locality and connection while viewing the Gaia Earth sculpture suspended above the theatre stage.
Using wireless headphones, audiences were invited to listen to a specially crafted audio experience while standing beneath Gaia and looking down at the Earth from above. The audio, written and performed by Michael and produced by myself, framed the visual experience through a local lens — encouraging listeners to imagine Mansfield from space, while remaining rooted in the town’s identity, landscape and community.
The immersive soundscapes focused on Mansfield’s local pride, heritage and rich natural habitats, blending narrative, atmosphere and sound design to complement the powerful visual impact of Gaia. By layering sound over the installation, the project created a more reflective, emotional and personal encounter with the artwork.
Presented during general admission hours, Mansfield Sounds demonstrated how immersive audio can be used within cultural spaces to enhance large-scale installations and create meaningful audience experiences without the need for screens or additional visuals.
The project reflects my approach to digital and immersive practice — using sound, storytelling and technology to create accessible, place-based experiences that connect global themes to local communities.
About Gaia
Gaia is a touring artwork by internationally renowned British artist Luke Jerram. The seven-metre-diameter sculpture features detailed NASA imagery of the Earth, presented at a scale where one centimetre represents 18 kilometres of the planet’s surface. Jerram’s work invites viewers to see the Earth from a new perspective, encouraging reflection on our place in the world, environmental responsibility and shared humanity.
By pairing Gaia with a locally rooted audio experience, Mansfield Sounds connected a globally recognised artwork with Mansfield’s own stories, landscapes and sense of place.