Status of project on the 7.10.2024
Status of project so far (07.10.2024)
The first group meetings took place online, on the 27.09.2024 and the 4.10.2024
It was great to meet the other festival participants and our mentors. During the calls we each discussed about our projects, the social model of disability and our aims for this festival. We also created a common manifesto which goes something like this:
Make accessibility for the differently abled the norm
We use art as a medium to share stories and how we form relationships with the world around us
Art allows us to speak about universal issues in a language that is accessible to everyone and stems from different sensory channels
This project is a development from a previous one called 'West of the Sun, East of the Moon' which was presented as part of the group exhibition ‘Our Connection to Water’ curated by The Collective Makers and presented at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich from March 2023 - Feb 2024. I explored the respect and relationship indigenous societies and ancient cultures had with water sources as they were aware of their importance for their survival. I brought the topic back to the present day, by talking about underwater sound pollution and how we needed to revive a relationship of respect and gratitude towards water. It’s harder to gain an understanding and develop awe for a world we know so little about, so I created a soundscape from a collection of underwater field recordings to give a taste of the richness of underwater life through sound.
By the first meeting, I had already collected underwater sound samples from a protected area in Cyprus with Marios from Enalia Phyisis. A meeting with Giorgos from MerLab brought new things to light. I am keeping this article informative instead of investigative as the topic is not one that is very well known (an investigative approach is for the next stage of this project, wink wink.) I want to keep this project simple and to the point so people can understand and learn what underwater sound pollution is. Creating a broader understanding and knowledge towards the issue will create better chances of people supporting research and actions towards preventing more harm to our fragile underwater ecosystems and marine organisms
In all of my projects I aim to engage the audience on an emotional level rather than just throwing facts and data at them as well as creating the audiovisual experiences to accompany the article. This is also why I am focusing on my hometown and informing the locals that underwater sound pollution is an issue in our town, as well as nationally and globally. I agree and follow the approach of Eco-psychology which states that seeks to "expand and remedy the emotional connection between humans and nature, treating people psychologically by bringing them spiritually closer to nature".
I already have an idea of how the space will be set up and how to make the installation site-specific as I have already used the space for my last 2 participatory installations 'Melody' and 'Melody II' . A new aspect of the installation that came to mind from our second meeting is how to build the sensory touch wall. I am still investigating how to find dimethyl sulphide in Cyprus - the chemical that can be used to re-create the smell of the ocean. You can be it in small quantities abroad but it is highly flammable so delivering it to Cyprus costs a fortune. Even though it's hard to find, the scent used in perfume making so the search will go on...