Waves

A sound journey through the stories and natural landscape of Start Bay, Devon

Waves is a sound journey through the stories and natural landscape of Start Bay, Devon. It contemplates the future of one of the South West of England’s most bio-diverse yet most vulnerable coastlines.

Over a period of a month, artistic director of Empty Deck, Kay Michael, and sound designer Janine A’Bear held interviews to capture local memories and tales. They spoke with three generations of the Steer family – long time fisherman of Beesands. They captured stories from café workers, beach visitors and members of the parish councils. They were given tours of the coastal stretch by research partner Gerd Masselink, Professor of Geomorphology at the �鶹��ý, who gave an insight into the changing landscape spanning centuries. Put together, these encounters formed a narrative not just of the inevitability of change, but also of adaptation, friendship and our historic and interconnected relationships to the natural environment.

From the lost village of Hallsands, to Beesands and Torcross at the south, to Slapton Sands, Strete and Blackpool Sands at the north, Start Bay has long suffered from sea surges and storm events. Its coastline has changed significantly even within decades, with the movement of beach sediment presenting further risk of erosion, coastal flooding and damage to infrastructure. Masselink’s work raises the question of whether gravel barriers such as Slapton Sands can continue to be effective in defending the low-lying areas behind it during storms, or whether sea-level rise will cause them to be breached or overwashed by 2100. Although it