A relatively small iceberg is known as a ‘growler.’ These bergs notoriously cause the most damage to the shipping industry, as they are less detectable when they stray into shipping lanes. Terror on Tour attendees are invited to interact with an artificially crafted stray growler, as a multi-media sound art event. Placed in the centre of a dark room, lit from above and below, the sounds of the berg slowly melting are captured, and manipulated electronically as a live performance, by hydrophone microphones inserted into its centre. The effected continuous sound can either be streamed live online for the duration of the conference or performed discreetly by us from the ‘iceberg room’ through four loudspeakers.
Taking its name from the ‘Multisensor Analyzed Sea Ice Extent’ (MASIE) global ice movement data centre, this reduced, isolated mock-berg offers a multi-media, multi- sensual experience. Attendees are welcome to directly engage with the berg and contribute to the piece as it melts, through live sound, image and touch, and to contemplate the continuous cyclical brutality of the Anthropocene, alongside nature’s persistent fight back. The slow drip of melting ice morphs into the sound of a ticking clock, highlighting the urgency of our current crisis; ancient embedded creatures, frozen in time, are revealed as the melt progresses; manipulated creaks, cracks, crunches and swirls provide sonic and visual metaphors for the state we are in, particularly in reference to humans’ relationship to nature in the northern hemisphere.
Two small pockets are carved within the berg and filled with ink, and gradually release, spread, intersect, attract and repel as the melting gradually increases. One, a rich jade or azure, represents the deepest and most ancient ice within a berg; the other, a dark blood red, carves a path of human destructiveness through the sculpture. The pure blue colour of icebergs occurs where light travels furthest through thick walls of ice, and red light, with its longer wavelength, is absorbed. The interweaving of these colours throughout the piece acts as a metaphor for a dialectic between the constructive and finely balanced forces of nature and the destructive politics of accumulation, exposing the fallacy of septrional purity.
In the event that Covid-related restrictions permit live performance from Malmö, the ice will be sourced from Copenhagen, in collaboration with local ice sculptors, Iceworks, who have agreed to supply and deliver to Malmö across the Oresund bridge. This bridge, completed in 2000, has contributed much to Malmö’s restoration, transforming it into a contemporary centre for business and education, thus placing the city at the intersection of trade routes between Scandinavian countries. Malmö has become a hub of immigration and a leading exporter of the Northern myth, which occurs at the expense of its own integrity. It now finds itself at the heart of geontopower where regional economic stability is prioritised over custodial responsibility for natural resources.
Maisie uses sound and visuals to accentuate these contradictions, encouraging people to engage and not turn away.
Amy F. W. Corcoran Royal College of Art, UK & Jo Langton Hutton University of Surrey, UK
Taking its name from the ‘Multisensor Analyzed Sea Ice Extent’ (MASIE) global ice movement data centre, this reduced, isolated mock-berg offers a multi-media, multi- sensual experience. Attendees are welcome to directly engage with the berg and contribute to the piece as it melts, through live sound, image and touch, and to contemplate the continuous cyclical brutality of the Anthropocene, alongside nature’s persistent fight back. The slow drip of melting ice morphs into the sound of a ticking clock, highlighting the urgency of our current crisis; ancient embedded creatures, frozen in time, are revealed as the melt progresses; manipulated creaks, cracks, crunches and swirls provide sonic and visual metaphors for the state we are in, particularly in reference to humans’ relationship to nature in the northern hemisphere.
Two small pockets are carved within the berg and filled with ink, and gradually release, spread, intersect, attract and repel as the melting gradually increases. One, a rich jade or azure, represents the deepest and most ancient ice within a berg; the other, a dark blood red, carves a path of human destructiveness through the sculpture. The pure blue colour of icebergs occurs where light travels furthest through thick walls of ice, and red light, with its longer wavelength, is absorbed. The interweaving of these colours throughout the piece acts as a metaphor for a dialectic between the constructive and finely balanced forces of nature and the destructive politics of accumulation, exposing the fallacy of septrional purity.
In the event that Covid-related restrictions permit live performance from Malmö, the ice will be sourced from Copenhagen, in collaboration with local ice sculptors, Iceworks, who have agreed to supply and deliver to Malmö across the Oresund bridge. This bridge, completed in 2000, has contributed much to Malmö’s restoration, transforming it into a contemporary centre for business and education, thus placing the city at the intersection of trade routes between Scandinavian countries. Malmö has become a hub of immigration and a leading exporter of the Northern myth, which occurs at the expense of its own integrity. It now finds itself at the heart of geontopower where regional economic stability is prioritised over custodial responsibility for natural resources.
Maisie uses sound and visuals to accentuate these contradictions, encouraging people to engage and not turn away.
Amy F. W. Corcoran Royal College of Art, UK & Jo Langton Hutton University of Surrey, UK
Experience Maisie The Growler On Twitch TV (from Wednesday 12pm)
Note: Headphones are recommended to experience the range of sonic frequencies.
Note: Headphones are recommended to experience the range of sonic frequencies.