As a member of FreeFall Arts collective Debbie took part in an exhibition at Buxton Museum in November 2015. As part of the show she wanted to create an installation, echoing the greenhouse aesthetic of her previous work with the WW Winter Collection presented as part of FORMAT Festival 2015, using images collected from Derbyshire communities.
The finished work was presented in Buxton Museum as delicate wax and resin houses, incorporating archival images from different Midlands towns. Each house enclosed an iBeacon which played oral history and music gathered or created through the Past Lives Project a cine film, sound, music and photo archive project in the Midlands.
Using an iPad and headphones exhibition visitors were able to walk between the houses, with the iBeacons inside the sculptures responding to visitors depending on the route they took and the time they spent with each sculpture, creating a bespoke soundscape unique to each person.
Debbie is a visual artist living in the East Midlands, working nationally and internationally. Her practice currently revolves around public engagement, photography, sound and light, and over the last few years she has worked extensively with archive imagery and oral history.
Debbie Adele Cooper’s work moves between digital and analogue, seeking to create new conversations between the past and today.
Debbie’s background is in participation, having worked as Participation Curator for QUAD for many years. Her interest in working with the public shapes her artwork, inviting and enabling interactions, exploring everyday moments and shared experiences, and feeding public responses into the creation of new work.
A project of Arts Derbyshire, supported by Arts Council England and Derbyshire County Council
Follow Us