MORE than eight years ago, a flood hit Peter McAdam's flat, ruining many of his old photos. All the same, once he'd fished them out, he couldn’t take his eyes off them.

“I scanned them into the computer, because I was fascinated by the textures”, he said. “I did a series of films on them in 2007, and then I started thinking that it might be great if the images could somehow be sparked off by sound.”

McAdam has been working on the concept for Coda Arts for four years. The idea is to create a collage of images that react to sound. The user uploads certain background images, and as noises play, these images pop up around and on top of each other, creating a bubbling, flowing picture.

“It’s like ambient art, which is sparked off by sound”, he said. “You’ve got a range of background images, and if you click your finger, one image might pop up. However, if you put some music on, four or five may emerge. You can create this lovely, mesmerising slide show.

“If you need a background for a stage show, you can press play and it will run all night. It could make a great VJ plug-in, and if you’re stuck for an album cover image you can take a screengrab and use that. When folk see it, their faces light up.”

McAdam pitched the idea for a DigitalCity Fellowship, which enabled him to receive business support and to bring in a programmer to build his design.

He has recently brought out a basic version for the iPhone called iCoda, which is designed to showcase its potential while he looks for the money required to get an even more interactive version up and running.

The Sunderland-based artist has also used the “open” desktop version for bespoke projects such as 2010’s Thinking Digital conference and Factory Nights at Berwick Town Hall. He is also currently working with Sunderland Council’s old archive images.

He said: “I’ve done serious projects with it. I could apply for commissions with the bespoke software, but it’s about time I sent it off into the real world.

“I’ve got it on iPhone now. You can’t add your own images yet, but I hope to be able to release that on an “open” version next year. I probably need about £4,000 to get it up and running properly. It’s got loads of potential, and I’m hoping to build an online community around it, where people can share what they’ve created.”