Soundscapes from extreme material testing (KOSORI)

Despite huge advances in research and technology in ship design, construction, operation, and decommissioning, marine accidents such as fires, explosions, collisions, grounding, hull-girder collapse and sinking continue to happen in the maritime industry – with catastrophic consequences.

The only way accidents like this can be mitigated is through large scale, physical testing – including subjecting materials to fires, explosions and sub-sea hyperbaric pressure.

A long-term collaboration between Pusan National University and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, The Korea Ship and Offshore Research Institute (KOSORI) has been conducting these tests to help the global maritime industry to better understand incidents at sea.

As a result of the Foundation’s support for KOSORI, key patents have been adopted by the Korean ship making industry, improving safety regulations and protecting the lives of those who work at sea.

‘Elements of Catastrophe’ – one of ten works featured in ‘SAFE: A collection of works exploring a safer world’ - evokes the conditions that KOSORI grapples with during their test procedures, whilst foregrounding the incidental sculptural forms produced by those processes. Extreme temperatures and sonic forces collide in an immersive soundscape which surrounds the sculptural forms, frozen at the moment of demolition. By combining the sounds and the visual impact of these testing procedures, the installation demonstrates how safety can be birthed from destruction.

‘SAFE: A collection of works exploring a safer world’ was an exhibition celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Lloyd’s Register Foundation that took place at Somerset House in 2022.

To explore ‘SAFE: A collection of works exploring a safer world’, visit our online exhibition.

To learn more about the Safe Seaweed Coalition and how they’re making the world a safer, more sustainable place, visit their website.