voices under the earth
1600mm X 450mm X 2mm steel plate, audio transducer, audio amplifier and audio player. 2017.
“…and I cried. By reason of my affliction I cried unto you and you heard me; out of the belly of Hell I cried, and you heard my voice.
For I was cast into the deep, in the midst of the seas; floods compassed about me: and billows and waves passed over me.”
We journey deep into the dark places, the places that lurk and lie in wait beneath the surface of our minds. We seek a deeper understanding of our humanity; our understanding will not be a direct understanding. We stand at the edge of an abyss and from this bottomless pit a beast rises up to meet us. A fight to the death. Suddenly we hear the song of the earth.
Voices under the earth was developed for the Šilainiai [Fortas] Project 2017 which took place in Kaunas, Lithuania. Underground sections of the 8th Fort in Kaunas were used as part of this event and in this work the journey an audience takes down into the dark is used as a mythic metaphor for an inward journey and encounter with our unconscious mind. Mythic stories and texts were selected and read through a steel plate which acted as a resonant sound object for the voice and various other sounds over a 20 minute composition.
The work was curved and lit so as to create a circular shadow extending over the ceiling, wall and floor.