EchoLens
Sensory Mapping
EchoLens is an interactive device that records and visualizes the soundscape of everyday environments. By synchronizing audio capture and visual display, it transforms ephemeral sounds—wind through fields, the rhythm of waves, the murmur of insects—into visible waveforms.
Each recording becomes a fragment of “auditory geography,” connecting memory, emotion, and place. Through field use, participants not only listen but also see sound, turning listening into a visual act. The project reimagines how technology can bridge people and their vanishing hometown landscapes, preserving local resonance through collective sound archives. EchoLens ultimately explores sound as both a medium of return and a language of belonging.
Medium
Sonic Interaction
Environmental Listening
Sound Visualization
Keywords
Acoustic Ecology
Participatory Art
Human–Environment Interaction
Inspiration
I was born on Bagua Island in Nanjing, a small island embraced by the Yangtze River.In my childhood, the sound of wind rustling through reeds, the distant ferry horns, and the chirping of insects in the fields formed the softest sound map in my memory.As the city expanded, more and more people left this land, and the voices of the fields were gradually replaced by cars and machines.Through sound, I hope to awaken the emotional connection between people and their hometown—to make hearing a bridge of return.
Each recording, each echo, is the island breathing, a current of memory flowing back. Sound can transcend distance, allowing the vanishing land to be heard once more.
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Display
This sketchbook documents the early stages of the project, where memories, images, and fragments of personal history were reorganized into a visual research process. Through collage, notes, and material tests, I began to trace how the disappearance of my childhood home shaped my understanding of space and the body. These experiments allowed continued to explore ways of translating emotional memory into physical form. The sketchbook serves as a place for intuition, collecting thoughts before they solidif into the final work