The Library of Lost Sounds collects sounds that were never recorded. A collaboration between artists, researchers and scientists, the group aims to recreate sounds of importance as they were felt through the whole body, not only how they might have been heard.
For Estuary 2025, Library of Lost Sounds is recreating ‘The Canvey Island Chimney Disaster’. This title was coined by TV personality Fred Dibnah, who was in charge of the demolition of a 450 feet high concrete chimney stack on Canvey Island in 1997 when it was accidentally destroyed a day early.
On the weekend of 28-29 June 2025, visitors can hear the sound and feel both the vibrations and shockwaves of the chimney stack being destroyed on its original site (now within Canvey Wick nature reserve), which has remained lost and without an audience for all these years.
Library of Lost Sounds was initiated by Dr Pryle Behrman, an artist, curator and academic whose practice explores the interplay between art, place and time. Pryle teaches art and design at USP College in Essex and has curated over 30 exhibitions in public and private art galleries, as well as within contemporary art fairs, most recently curating the ‘Encounters’ section of London Art Fair in January 2025. Amongst other topics, Pryle has written artist profiles and features about art curation and international biennales for national newspapers and international art magazines, and he has recently gained a PhD from University of Westminster centred on his creative practice.
‘The Canvey Island Chimney Disaster’ has been created in collaboration with Jo Loman from Buglife and Marc Outten from RSPB.
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