Desert Island Dubplates: An Interactive Oral History Installation
Bristol Music: Seven Decades of Sound' exhibition, M-shed museum, Bristol
This project was an interactive museum installation presented as a set of playable vinyl records. Commissioned by Bristol M Shed for the exhibition Bristol Music: Seven Decades of Sound (2018), I produced seven custom dubplates, each featuring a portrait of the interviewee on the sleeve, their spoken oral history on the A-side, and the piece of music they discussed on the B-side. The work used vinyl as both medium and interface, directly aligning with the exhibition’s focus on recorded music and sound culture.
Through the exhibition’s community advisory panel, fans, artists, and producers representing seven decades of Bristol music were asked a single question: “Tell us about a piece of music that means something to you.”
Working with a radio broadcast recordist, a professional portrait photographer, and undergraduate student Josh Greenidge, I created a tactile listening experience within the gallery. Visitors could browse the records, select one, and listen on Technics 1200 turntables while seated in a large armchair, encouraging slow, attentive engagement with music and oral history.
The exhibition received approximately 250,000 unique visitors, and an edition of the records was acquired for M Shed’s permanent collection. Limited editions of individual records and complete sets of the dubplates are available on request.
