We Are Busy Bodies has created a large-scale exhibition format of The Cylinder Project specifically focused on the evolution of sound recording technology and its role in sharing information on a global level.
The Cylinder Project: Evolution of Sound Recording Technology and its Societal, Social and Cultural Impact is an immersive, interactive experience that invites visitors to explore the evolution of sound recording technology and how its impact changed the way certain types of information has been disseminated over the past 130 years. The exhibition examines the connections between how early songs and stories were first captured in communities and the role various recorded mediums have played in sharing and preserving the stories, information, and messages with others through later generations.
This exhibition further explores the fundamental role music, recorded sound, and language plays in society, while providing an opportunity to examine its rapid evolution. It presents working examples of recorded formats dating back to the 1890s. This is combined with over two hundred prints, drawings, sound installations, live lathe record cutting, performances, and workshops themed around music and language from the 1890s to the present.
It becomes clear that recorded medium has been instrumental in rapidly enhancing how musical culture is embraced. The exhibitions help to draw parallels as much as they look to highlight uniqueness in song and individuality, continues to shape society as it comes from so many different directions and from different music genres over time. Simple examples are the popularity of BTS transcending language and cultural divides, to humming a song by The Beatles decades removed, or even the shared cadence and melody of many nursery rhymes.
The exhibition features interactive components suitable for all ages.