Can I Ask You a Question? is a sound piece and experiential walk that uses sound as a vehicle to investigate the tensions currently existing along the Regent’s Canal at Kings Cross. Between 1820 and 1960, the canal's primary function was trade, transporting timber, coal and building materials from King's Cross to the major industrial cities of northern England. More recently, due to population growth, housing development, and industrial activities the canal’s usage has changed from a transport route to a promenade. Presently, it is intended to be a place of recreation and relaxation for human inhabitants as well as an ecosystem for birds, insects and amphibians. However, this new usage of Regent’s Canal has led to a decline in the canal's water quality, air, and noise pollution.
Interested in exploring the repercussions of these changes, Red Group 3 (RG3) utilized a socio-political lens to study and document human and non-human interactions, and create a sound piece that encompassed the daily activities happening on the canal. By deploying methodologies that included interviewing current residents, examining perspectives of the canal from the surrounding area, and inspecting the environment’s ecology, the group was able to gain a better understanding of the forced agreements the canal’s visitors and inhabitants must adhere to.
Through this process, RG3 was able to uncover the realities that exist in this human-made waterway: Concerns of safety and excitement around a growing commercial area were consistent among interviewees; visible pollution and a large bird populations seemingly have an undisturbed coexistence; and the ever-present sounds of the surrounding city remind us that the canal is part of a larger ecosystem many of us are incapable of changing, while also being complicit in its functionality.
These discoveries leave us with complex questions such as: with the existence of such contradictions, can the canal be considered a place for coexistence or are these human and non-human interactions artificial and imposed by humans onto animals and their ecosystem? For the humans living on the canal, is their perspective driven by a yearning for economic opportunities and a safe place they can return to for safe dwelling? And what is the role of a visitor that engages with spaces such as Regent’s Canal?
These constant questions bring tension to even the most peaceful moments. RG3’s Can I Ask You a Question? captures the sounds representing these simultaneous happenings and encourages listeners to contemplate their overt and covert existence.

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