Description:
This hypothetical/proposed artwork takes reference from my previous project “The Silent Cry of the Ceteceans”. It is also in the form of a soundscape situated at the Esplanade tunnel and uses the human body as an interaction device in a public space. The intended outcome is similar, which is to bring awareness to the fact that man-made noises are polluting the acoustic environment in the oceans and harming ceteceans, i.e. whales and dolphins.
This time however, the installation is also a digital game of sorts. As the participant moves through the tunnel, he will see red light spots appearing on the floor. The participant has to step into the light spots to “save the ceteceans”.
The red light spots appearing on the floor represent man-made sounds. The light spots will start forming as the light gets more intense. A few seconds later after they appear, either an image of screen static will be seen, and a loud ship noise will be heard; other light spots will show a sonar screen and loud military sonar pings will be heard. This will continue indefinitely until a person steps into the light spot.
For each light spot that appears and forms, the sound of the ceteceans will get softer. The fewer light spots there are, the louder will be the natural cetecean sounds. By stepping into the light spots, the participant is preventing the man-made sounds from drowning out the sounds of the ceteceans. This action symbolically represents a conscious man-made decision to help the ceteceans by reducing or controlling the emission of man-made noise pollution in the ocean.
The reward in this game is to enjoy the sounds of the ceteceans as opposed to the loud and jarring noises of the commercial and military ships. The game is based on a traditional carnival game similar to “Clown Bonk” where the player has to hit the clown “buttons” with a hammer as they pop up, although it is a much slower version, to reflect that in real life, solutions need time to implement and take effect. Instead of clown “buttons”, red spots are used to represent acoustic noise.
Images:
Video Documentation:
lohjianhui 