Into the Woods: HAG/GWRACH R&D

The work has taken us from the ancient woodlands of Cornwall to a studio in Cardiff, where artists from both nations came together to imagine, experiment and ask a simple question:

Can digital tools reconnect us with ancient ways of knowing?

Over nine extraordinary days we’ve been gathering binaural recordings beneath the trees, capturing film, writing songs, building stories, creating characters, experimenting with immersive tech, responsive light and projection, and discovering how sound, landscape and technology might work together to create an immersive experience that feels both ancient and entirely new.

Along the way we’ve filled the project with countless tiny details: ticking clocks, boiling kettles, birdsong, storms, open fires, cassette rewinds, whispered secrets, Welsh lullabies, glowing hearts hidden inside forgotten toys and strange encounters with the woodland after dark. Every texture has helped reveal another piece of the world we’re creating.

One of the greatest joys of the process has been collaboration.

The second week saw our team double in size as artists from Cornwall and Wales came together in Cardiff, sharing ideas, skills and perspectives that continually reshaped the work. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who contributed their imagination, generosity and expertise throughout the R&D.

Our thanks also go to Shane and the team at Coven XP for their generous skill sharing, technical guidance and the loan of specialist sound equipment, to Porters Cardiff for hosting us so warmly, and to Suzie Chaikin for opening up her beautiful woodland in Cornwall, where so much of the project’s early exploration took place.

The R&D culminated in a sharing with an invited audience, who stepped into the world of HAG/GWRACH for the first time. Their openness, curiosity and thoughtful feedback have given us a huge amount to take forward, helping us understand not only what the work is becoming, but what it could become next.

This research has been made possible through Immersive Arts’ Experiment Fund, which supports artists exploring how immersive technologies can open up new creative possibilities. The fund has given us something incredibly valuable: time. Time to experiment, collaborate, question, play and discover without rushing towards finished answers.

HAG/GWRACH is a cross-Celtic collaboration between DAUR & Hannah McPake, exploring how spatial audio, Immersive technology and responsive environments can deepen our relationship with landscape, mythology and ecological memory. Rather than using technology to distract from nature, we’re interested in how it might help us listen more closely to it.

We’re leaving this phase feeling excited. It feels as though we’ve only just scratched the surface of what this project could become.

The next step is to secure further funding so we can continue developing HAG/GWRACH into a full-scale immersive experience.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us, followed our journey and believed in the project so far. This is only the beginning.

To find out more about HAG/GWRACH, the collaborators and the ideas behind the project, visit the HAG/GWRACH page link below…