{"id":2472,"date":"2025-07-18T06:56:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T06:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/2472\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T06:56:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T06:56:16","slug":"wind-powered-sculpture-by-lazerian-turns-guitars-into-sonic-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/2472\/","title":{"rendered":"wind-powered sculpture by lazerian turns guitars into sonic art"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cathedral of Sound combines sound, structure, and community<\/p>\n

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Cathedral of Sound is a large-scale, wind-powered<\/a> sound sculpture<\/a> developed by Liam Hopkins of Lazerian<\/a> as part of Manchester\u2019s<\/a> Music for the Senses art trail. Initially installed in St. Peter\u2019s Square before being relocated to Mayfield, the work brings together sound<\/a>, structure, and public participation through the reuse<\/a> of musical instruments. The installation<\/a> is constructed from hundreds of acoustic and electric guitars<\/a> donated by residents of Manchester. These instruments, ranging from vintage to damaged and disused, are integrated into the sculpture\u2019s framework to form a layered, architectural structure. The design draws from the logic of masonry, with guitars arranged similarly to bricks, creating a cohesive surface that reflects the varied musical history and community contributions of the city.<\/p>\n

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A steel<\/a> internal framework provides structural integrity, supporting both the dense configuration of guitars and a kinetic wind-responsive system. This system includes a sculptural flag mounted at the top of the installation, which captures wind energy. As wind passes through the structure, it activates a mechanical interface that interacts with the guitars, generating acoustic sound. The movement of the flag influences tonal qualities such as pitch and rhythm, allowing the sculpture to change sonically in response to weather conditions.<\/p>\n

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all images courtesy of Lazerian<\/a><\/p>\n

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Designed by Liam Hopkins of Lazerian for Music for the Senses<\/p>\n

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The production of Cathedral of Sound involved both traditional fabrication methods and iterative design processes to accommodate the unique form and material variability of the donated instruments. The project by multidisciplinary creative studio<\/a> Lazerian emphasizes material reuse, transforming objects originally designed for individual use into a collective, site-specific installation. Public participation played a central role in the development of the work through the Guitar Amnesty initiative, which invited residents to donate unused or broken guitars. Instruments in working condition were redirected to local grassroots musicians, extending the project\u2019s engagement beyond the sculptural installation itself.<\/p>\n

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Functioning as both a sonic object and a public artwork, Cathedral of Sound offers an evolving auditory and spatial experience. Its design reflects a convergence of environmental interaction, structural reuse, and civic collaboration, contributing to Manchester\u2019s urban landscape and cultural narrative through form, sound, and community-driven design.<\/p>\n

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a wind-powered sculpture built from donated guitars in Manchester<\/p>\n

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Cathedral of Sound combines sound, structure, and community engagement<\/p>\n

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hundreds of acoustic and electric guitars form the skin of the sculpture<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cathedral of Sound combines sound, structure, and community \u00a0 Cathedral of Sound is a large-scale, wind-powered sound sculpture…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2473,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[3806,449,458,459,64,63,460,134,3807,3808,3809,3810,3811,3812,3813,3814],"class_list":["post-2472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-architecture-in-the-uk","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-interactive-installation","tag-lazerian","tag-musical-instruments","tag-recycling","tag-sculpture","tag-sound-art","tag-steel-architecture-and-design","tag-wind-power"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}