DIALECTS OF THE DEEP
wooden sculptures, glass sculptures, sound
in collaboration with John Andrew Wilhite-Hannisdal and Rebekah Oomen
For too long people have characterised the underwater world as something silent. Many languages contain expressions such as “mute as a fish”, which is not just incorrect, it is harmful. We ignore the voices of the sea, and we are oblivious to the human-led destruction of sonic ecosystems. At least 50% of fish use music to communicate. Dialects of the Deep reflects on these underwater voices and sets them in dialogue with one another. It also opens up for dialogue between us humans and the underwater beings. Using old fishing boats from the Barents region and old glass net floats from 19-20th century, that have been drifted ashore, visual artist Anastasia Savinova has created monumental sculptures which evoke the life cycles of fish and investigates how they are symbolically and physically connected to human life. She collaborated with a sound artist John Andrew Wilhite-Hannisdal who together with a marine biologist Rebekah Oomen has been collecting cod sounds and reflecting upon how each unique cod voice contributes to a complex underwater society. In this work, the voices of cod vibrate the wooden boat-bodies, exploring old relationships and creating new harmonies.
visual artist: Anastasia Savinova
sound artist: John Andrew Wilhite-Hannisdal
research: Rebekah Oomen
Produced by Pikene på Broen, with support of the Swedish Arts Grants Committee and Norsk Kulturfond.
video documentation
a short documentary about the work
wooden sculptures, glass sculptures, sound
in collaboration with John Andrew Wilhite-Hannisdal and Rebekah Oomen
For too long people have characterised the underwater world as something silent. Many languages contain expressions such as “mute as a fish”, which is not just incorrect, it is harmful. We ignore the voices of the sea, and we are oblivious to the human-led destruction of sonic ecosystems. At least 50% of fish use music to communicate. Dialects of the Deep reflects on these underwater voices and sets them in dialogue with one another. It also opens up for dialogue between us humans and the underwater beings. Using old fishing boats from the Barents region and old glass net floats from 19-20th century, that have been drifted ashore, visual artist Anastasia Savinova has created monumental sculptures which evoke the life cycles of fish and investigates how they are symbolically and physically connected to human life. She collaborated with a sound artist John Andrew Wilhite-Hannisdal who together with a marine biologist Rebekah Oomen has been collecting cod sounds and reflecting upon how each unique cod voice contributes to a complex underwater society. In this work, the voices of cod vibrate the wooden boat-bodies, exploring old relationships and creating new harmonies.
visual artist: Anastasia Savinova
sound artist: John Andrew Wilhite-Hannisdal
research: Rebekah Oomen
Produced by Pikene på Broen, with support of the Swedish Arts Grants Committee and Norsk Kulturfond.
video documentation
a short documentary about the work
Barents Spektakel, Kirkenes, Norway, 2023
Dialects of The Deep
Festspillene, Galleri Nord-Norge, Harstad, Norway, 2023
Festspillene, Galleri Nord-Norge, Harstad, Norway, 2023
photo: Oleg Khadartsev / Pikene på Broen
with support of the Swedish Arts Grants Committee