University of Winchester exhibition celebrates the CD

Perfect Sound Forever is on display at the University of Winchester’s West Downs Gallery from September 19 to October 10, and explores the cultural impact of the CD, which once dominated music collections but has since faded from mainstream use.

Curated by university academics Dr Glenn Fosbraey and Daniel Ash, the exhibition pays tribute to CDs and the objects that accompanied them, including jewel cases, album booklets, Discmans and Hi-Fis.

Dr Glenn Fosbraey and Daniel Ash of the University of Winchester are seeking to reclaim the CD from the car boot sale and charity shop. (Image: University of Winchester)

Daniel, a visiting lecturer on the university’s Composing Song Lyrics module, said: "You’d always find me at the CD rack at house parties.

"My triple album CD box-set copy of The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs has travelled almost everywhere with me and would almost certainly be one of the first things I’d reach for if I were to wake up in a burning house."

Dr Fosbraey, senior lecturer in creative writing and associate dean of humanities and social sciences, said: "Many of my CDs evoke memories as vivid as any photograph or home video, and just by holding them again, I am transported back to another place and time.

"Never have I been able to have such reactions to the songs on my Spotify account, or even to my vinyl or cassette collections.

"For me, my CDs are as much a part of my life as my pessimism or receding hairline (and infinitely more pleasurable)."

The exhibition’s title, Perfect Sound Forever, refers to the original marketing promise made by electronics companies that CDs would deliver flawless, permanent fidelity compared to vinyl or cassette.

CD sales overtook vinyl around 1988 and peaked between 2000 and 2002 before declining with the rise of digital downloads.

Despite this, both organisers have held on to their collections.

The exhibition is intended as a "love letter to this fallen giant of music," inviting visitors to rediscover the once-revolutionary format.

An exhibition spokesperson said: "Once the shiny shape of the future, the compact disc is now caught dangling in a cultural limbo – too archaic for modern music listeners but not yet old enough to be considered downright retro cool like vinyl."

It is open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 8.30am to 4pm on Saturdays.

To find out about the launch event for Perfect Sound Forever, go to facebook.com/events/s/perfect-sound-forever-launch-p/4422680791329693.