Soundings

Soundings is a three-screen film installation with live dance. This expansive portrait of the deep sea, as seen through multiple lenses, asks how we might connect with a space most of us will never experience first-hand.

Conceived as a response to the intensifying global debates on deep-sea mining for minerals of the seabed, this compelling work is a commentary on how, the ways in which we imagine, portray and talk about the deep-sea become fundamental to how we relate to and subsequently govern this space.

 From an intimate encounter between a dancer and a deep-sea creature to ancient stories about our innate connection to this space; from the first maps of abyssal plains to the voices of Pacific activists, this kaleidoscopic portrayal delves into our understanding of the deep and the nuanced debates surrounding mining the seafloor.

 On certain days during the exhibition, a dancer will activate the installation by encountering and moving with the creatures on the screens. (See dates for live performance days.)

 Accompanying this event is Walk to the Bottom of the Sea, an artist-led coastal walk the length of the ocean’s deepest depth.