The “Floating Herstories” Sound Project: a Helical Collaborative Process

Abstract

This article describes the sound project “Floating Herstories” in all its levels: from its conception and development, to its trial in the field on the island of Trinidad, in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. Inspired by the childhood experience of hearing a shell on Caribbean seashores, this sound work uses seashells as the medium to transmit stories narrated by women authors from Trinidad. Co-written by two authors, this article describes the multidisciplinary construction of the project, involving the participation of the three narrators of the soundtrack. Following a situated heritage of storytelling, “Floating Herstories” aims to tell stories collected poetically by the Caribbean Sea. The trial with the finished prototype conveyed the reactions of the population in situ, from which we gathered some meanings concerning the experience of both telling a story and listening to one. On this basis, the article sets out some questions about the value of silence and selected sound in a familiar or estranged context.