Standing Ground is an immersive experience that reflects on humanity's profound connection with the natural world, celebrating the intricate systems and cycles that define our ecosystems. Created by Urban Projections and composer CJ Mirra during a residency with the Harley Foundation on the historic Welbeck Estate, this project invites audiences to reconnect with nature, offering a hopeful vision for a future marked by accelerated ecological change and climate uncertainty.

The work is rooted in collaborative exploration and dialogue. Urban Projections and CJ Mirra partnered with ecologist Simon Pickles and zine artist Harry Hempsall to examine the complex interplay between humans and the landscape.

Together with clients from Aebal Care and Support Services, the team ventured into a serene 16th-century woodland, where they captured the unique soundscape of the forest. Participants experimented with different microphones, cameras, and recording devices, immersing themselves in the forest’s atmosphere while documenting its expressive sounds—a process that also revealed the restorative impact of time spent in nature.
The collected field recordings form the architectural foundation of Standing Ground, with forest sounds manipulated into rhythmic elements like snare drums, bass, and ambient effects, blending natural acoustics with an electronic soundscape.

Additionally, the team studied Welbeck’s veteran trees, which have withstood centuries of change and are documented in archival photographs from as far back as 1870. These ancient trees, biological witnesses to history, embody resilience and the continuity of life.

As a part of the residency, young artists from the Proto-Type Collective engaged with the symbolic nature of these trees, using AI to co-create evolving visual sequences. This digital collaboration allowed the group to explore themes of endurance and regeneration, translating the trees’ ecological grandeur into mesmerising imagery that accompanies the soundscape.

Standing Ground offers audiences an intimate, reflective journey through nature’s cycles, inviting them to find hope and renewal in the resilient beauty of the natural world. By blending sound, light, and technology, this installation serves as both an artistic meditation on our relationship with the environment and a celebration of nature’s power to inspire optimism and collective responsibility.