Chris Watson's 'Trent Falls' Opens Wapping Hydraulic Power Station for London Design Festival 2026

Sound artist Chris Watson has launched an immersive installation called 'Trent Falls' at the Wapping Hydraulic Power Station. This project is part of The Art of Sound initiative for the 2026 London Design Festival. The experience takes listeners on a journey along the Humber Estuary, starting from Goole Docks where the Trent and Ouse rivers converge, moving through Faxfleet Nature Reserve, the old Oxmardyke signal box, under the Humber Bridge, and finishing at Spurn Point. Watson describes it as "a sound voyage that travels with the tide into the North Sea." Commissioned for Hull's UK City of Culture in 2017, it features a mix of natural and industrial sounds, using L-Acoustics' immersive sound system. The Art of Sound will run until September 15, 2026, alongside works by other artists like Max Cooper and Hollie Buhagiar.