Listening and composing soundscapes in a fragile moment –

September 2026

“I have lived on this land for 49 years, cleared enough for shelter and garden and am deeply embedded. The rhythm of the weather in this forest has shaped the way I have lived and worked. Now, that rhythm has changed; the stability of home here no longer exists. Fragility is our new reality. Winter may not coat the mountains with snow to melt over the summer into the rivers and underground streams. This spring, rivers, wetlands and wells are drying up. The earth has already hardened before summer even arrives. Forest fires start up nearby. 

Listening and composing soundscapes is a way to celebrate the fragile moment we are living. My recently completed melting, from the snowmelt of 2025, marks the last we are likely to see in those mountain meadows. This year there was none. I recorded all the sound for this piece one evening on the mountain. In my studio I have shifted some tones to reveal the deep, rolling notes I sensed beneath the streams. The call of the thrush, reshaped and layered, became harmonies, voices, as if from another world. 

I am presently working on sounds of the wetlands and forest. The recordings are from my home—the wetland across from me and the mountain above me. The compositions arising are for inner space, insight and courage.”

For the September CASE meeting Poisson presented her compositions and opened a space for dialogue about listening.

bio
Renée Poisson is a multifaceted artist working on independent and collaborative projects involving sculpture, performance, drawing, video, installations, soundscapes. Since her BA in 1965 (honors Philosophy), Poisson’s education has been intensely self-directed. Artist residencies in Quebec and Switzerland and grants awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts and the BC Arts Council have deepened her art practice. Recently, attending Barry Truax’s online course in soundscape composition hosted by Jesse Budell, has extended her knowledge and further inspired her audio work.