Whispers of Sunken Forest (2022)
2021, Field Recordings w/ Narration (12:48 loop), Drawings
on papers, Postcards
Exhibitions:
Trees, we breathe at Wave Hill, NY
Art in Odd Places: Story
Collaborator:
Jesse Simpson
Supported by:
MAAF Grant by NYSCA (New York State Council on the Arts) in Partnership with Wave Farm
Unnamed Fund
Exhibitions:
Trees, we breathe at Wave Hill, NY
Art in Odd Places: Story
Collaborator:
Jesse Simpson
Supported by:
MAAF Grant by NYSCA (New York State Council on the Arts) in Partnership with Wave Farm
Unnamed Fund
Whispers of
Sunken Forest is
a sound installation that opens a portal to the Sunken Forest, accompanied by
associated drawings, maps, and postcards.
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Sunken Forest, located on Fire Island in New York, is one of only two old-growth maritime American Holly forests in the world. The centuries-old unique ecosystem is disappearing quickly due to climate change and coastal erosion. We hope to communicate the urgency of climate change through the forest’s voice from our immediate environment. As a way of archiving the status of the forest and telling the story of the forest to more people, we collected field recordings by making multiple trips to the forest and created sound compositions based on the recordings.
Listen to the sound on SoundCloud
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The work is a part of Wave Hill’s Trees, We Breathe as a part of their 50th anniversary, curated by Gabriel de Guzman, Director of Arts and Chief Curator; Rachel Raphaela Gugelberger, Curator of Visual Arts, and Afriti Bankwalla, Curatorial Administrative Assistant.
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“Yeseul Song and Jesse Simpson have distinct artistic practices that are both invested in the ways in which technology can transform and enhance the audience's relationship to art. Song, aims to redefine the relationship between art and audience, making the audience active participants in the artwork rather than spectators. She taps into nonvisual senses to immerse audiences in imaginative, inclusive worlds. Simpson, an artist and experimental sound designer, focuses on algorithmic design and custom musical instruments, forging invested connections between people and digital systems. Song and Simpson's collaborative Whispers of Sunken Forest, originated in 2020 during the height of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Told in four parts, this work combines field recordings and voiceovers to weave a narrative of Fire Island's Sunken Forest, one of only two oldgrowth maritime American holly forests in the world. Called •sunken• because none of its trees grow above their protective surrounding dune system, this ancient ecological rarity is at risk of destruction, a victim to climate change, coastal erosion, and rising sea levels. The artists collected immersive field recordings from all layers of the forest, capturing its unique collection of ambient textures, animal calls, and the interplay of natural elements that both define and threaten the forest. The narration physically situates audiences and explains the current dangerous conditions the woodland faces. The artists enter into a collaboration with the forest, blending their own voices with those of the woods to communicate the urgency of climate change and the need to protect this 300-year-old ecosystem. The result is a more holistic and transportive relationship to the environment than is possible from images alone. The audio piece is accompanied by a sound walk map illustrated by the artists, along with informational prints collected from the Sunken Forest information center in 2022.”
— Written by the curators of Trees, We Breathe:
In September 2022, the installation was presented in a public space (as a part of Art in Odd Places: STORY, an outdoor art festival on 14th Street in Manhattan) to create a listening station and open up a portal to the Sunken Forest in the middle of the bustling city. Research materials were shown along with the installation, and my collaborator and I were present during the installation to guide people through the experience and help them connect more closely to the forest.
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Truly diverse groups of people, ranging from people who live in the neighborhood, to passersby, to tourists, engaged with the project and had conversations with me, my collaborators, and each other about the forest and ecological issues. Some people sat down with us, closed their eyes, and listened to the voice of Sunken Forest for the whole duration, which was 13 minutes. It was powerful to witness people slow down and listen for that long duration of time, in the middle of bustling 14th Street. Postcards with links to sound compositions and information about the forest were distributed to 70-80 visitors.
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There were some stretches of time when it became hard to invite people to engage with the project, since the street is so busy with lots of distractions. As a playful solution, my collaborator and I went inside a public elevator that connects the High Line to 14th Street. We set up our work inside—a small table with research materials and postcards—and played the sound compositions with narrations as “elevator music.” Some passengers said hi, some inquired about what they’re listening to, and some asked us what we’re doing. Many of them listened to the project “elevator pitches.” and responded with some comments :)
*The work is part of a larger project, titled Fragile Landscapes.
Sunken Forest, located on Fire Island in New York, is one of only two old-growth maritime American Holly forests in the world. The centuries-old unique ecosystem is disappearing quickly due to climate change and coastal erosion. We hope to communicate the urgency of climate change through the forest’s voice from our immediate environment. As a way of archiving the status of the forest and telling the story of the forest to more people, we collected field recordings by making multiple trips to the forest and created sound compositions based on the recordings.
Listen to the sound on SoundCloud
The work is a part of Wave Hill’s Trees, We Breathe as a part of their 50th anniversary, curated by Gabriel de Guzman, Director of Arts and Chief Curator; Rachel Raphaela Gugelberger, Curator of Visual Arts, and Afriti Bankwalla, Curatorial Administrative Assistant.
“Yeseul Song and Jesse Simpson have distinct artistic practices that are both invested in the ways in which technology can transform and enhance the audience's relationship to art. Song, aims to redefine the relationship between art and audience, making the audience active participants in the artwork rather than spectators. She taps into nonvisual senses to immerse audiences in imaginative, inclusive worlds. Simpson, an artist and experimental sound designer, focuses on algorithmic design and custom musical instruments, forging invested connections between people and digital systems. Song and Simpson's collaborative Whispers of Sunken Forest, originated in 2020 during the height of the Covid 19 pandemic.
Told in four parts, this work combines field recordings and voiceovers to weave a narrative of Fire Island's Sunken Forest, one of only two oldgrowth maritime American holly forests in the world. Called •sunken• because none of its trees grow above their protective surrounding dune system, this ancient ecological rarity is at risk of destruction, a victim to climate change, coastal erosion, and rising sea levels. The artists collected immersive field recordings from all layers of the forest, capturing its unique collection of ambient textures, animal calls, and the interplay of natural elements that both define and threaten the forest. The narration physically situates audiences and explains the current dangerous conditions the woodland faces. The artists enter into a collaboration with the forest, blending their own voices with those of the woods to communicate the urgency of climate change and the need to protect this 300-year-old ecosystem. The result is a more holistic and transportive relationship to the environment than is possible from images alone. The audio piece is accompanied by a sound walk map illustrated by the artists, along with informational prints collected from the Sunken Forest information center in 2022.”
— Written by the curators of Trees, We Breathe:
In September 2022, the installation was presented in a public space (as a part of Art in Odd Places: STORY, an outdoor art festival on 14th Street in Manhattan) to create a listening station and open up a portal to the Sunken Forest in the middle of the bustling city. Research materials were shown along with the installation, and my collaborator and I were present during the installation to guide people through the experience and help them connect more closely to the forest.
Truly diverse groups of people, ranging from people who live in the neighborhood, to passersby, to tourists, engaged with the project and had conversations with me, my collaborators, and each other about the forest and ecological issues. Some people sat down with us, closed their eyes, and listened to the voice of Sunken Forest for the whole duration, which was 13 minutes. It was powerful to witness people slow down and listen for that long duration of time, in the middle of bustling 14th Street. Postcards with links to sound compositions and information about the forest were distributed to 70-80 visitors.
There were some stretches of time when it became hard to invite people to engage with the project, since the street is so busy with lots of distractions. As a playful solution, my collaborator and I went inside a public elevator that connects the High Line to 14th Street. We set up our work inside—a small table with research materials and postcards—and played the sound compositions with narrations as “elevator music.” Some passengers said hi, some inquired about what they’re listening to, and some asked us what we’re doing. Many of them listened to the project “elevator pitches.” and responded with some comments :)
*The work is part of a larger project, titled Fragile Landscapes.