Sound sculpture of Chesil Beach: remote microphones, audio codecs, digital lines, playback system, hard-disc recorder, 1999

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Since his training as a composer, Fontana has been fascinated by sounds that for him stand out from the confusion of ambient noise that surrounds us. He isolates these sounds often transferring them to a different architectural context, and in doing so makes them take on a form and even a physical presence.

Bill Fontana has created a unique installation for the Museum consisting of the sounds of the sea from Chesil Beach on the south-west coast of Dorset. After much travelling and listening to the natural sounds of the British coastline, Fontana selected the 22 km pebble bank for the dramatic sounds of the waves pounding on the shoreline. The pebbles are naturally graded from pea gravel in the west to fist-sized cobbles near Portland. The Fleet Lagoon and adjacent Chesil Bank combine to form one of the most unique coastal habitats of Northern Europe. The area is of international biological and environmental importance and is listed as a Site of Special Interest by English Nature and has been designated a National Nature Reserve.

Wave Phases at Chesil Beach is located at the north entrance to the Museum. Approaching from the busy road, visitors are welcomed to the museum by the sounds of breaking waves, emitted from loud-speakers in the ground. For the first few months of the work in 1999 the sounds of the sea were transmitted live via microphones and digital connection installed on Chesil beach.

Bill Fontana describes the effect of transferring sounds to another location as 'a transparent overlay to visual space'. This overlay actually alters the identity of a site 'by infusing it with a totally new acoustic identity that is strong enough to compete with its visual identity'. The sounds of the sea are among the most impressive and evocative environmental sounds; they have happened continuously for thousands of years. It is particularly fitting for the Museum located within a large metropolis to merge its identity with one of Britain’s most striking coastal sites.

You can find out more about Bill Fontana and his work on his website.