I Hear You: a Soundscape of the Unheard World of Parkinson’s

Dr Jennifer Foley and Alison Carlier

I hear you will explore the unheard voices and experiences of young people affected by Parkinson’s, including how the disease affects them, their bodies, their minds, their lives, and in particular, their mental health. Reflecting upon these accounts, combining stories, background sounds of rhythmical motor symptoms with ambient sound and original music, the ambition is to build a textured soundscape of what it feels like to live with Parkinson’s. The project hopes to offer a glimmer of insight into this community’s day-to-day experience, that immerses the listener and engages their emotions and imaginations, whilst challenging commonly held preconceptions about the disease. 

Dr Jennifer Foley is a Neuropsychologist. She works as a clinical academic, combining highly specialist clinical skills with cutting-edge research. At the National Hospital of Neurology and Neurosurgery, she leads a highly specialist diagnostic assessment clinic for people with movement disorders, and the delivery of its treatment programmes. At UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, she is an Honorary Lecturer, leading a team of researchers investigating how best to understand, assess and treat the mental health aspects of Parkinson’s disease. She is also lead of Parkinson’s UK Excellence Network for Mental Health, which aims to improve mental health services for people with Parkinson’s across the UK. 

Alison Carlier is an artist who works with audio, both in co-production and collaboration with others. Her work centres around how humans engage and understand through what is seen and what is heard. She is especially interested in speech and how sounds can be perceived as musical. Alison works part time as an Occupational Therapist (O.T) in older people’s care, alongside her art practice. Here she frequently works with people with cognitive impairment, including those who live with Parkinson’s. Alison won the Jerwood Drawing Prize in 2014 with an audio drawing. Alison brings innovation and imagination to the partnership, demonstrable through leading numerous socially engaged projects, where she has often worked in collaboration with other artists and hard to reach and diverse sections of the community.