Maggie \ ^o^ /

Urban Harpy by Maggie Clark, 2026

Urban Harpy is a criticism on how disconnected humans are becoming from nature, particularly on how many of us cannot go outside without wearing a headset becoming distant to the sounds our surroundings offer us. It follows my route to the bus stop I take to school and is a retelling of the sounds and sights I experienced at different times of the day (7am and 7pm). I recorded noises I heard when walking and edited them together to create a musical piece. No instruments were used in the creation of this art, only recorded sounds from the world around me, my voice, and the tapping, clapping, and rubbing together of my hands.

I used audio to bring attention to the sounds we often miss when we choose to distance ourselves from the outside world we live and travel upon. I considered adding a visual component to the art piece but ultimately decided against it because I thought it might become too narrative and I really wanted to invoke inward thought and reflection of the people that listen to it.

My walk to and from my bus stop is a little longer than 1km so I just recorded the sounds from one 500m stretch of road on my route at two different times of the day, totaling 1km (image below for reference).

Raw Audio Recordings, Brainstorming, Process