Currais


The audience entered the shelter alone and interact individually, touching both rocks to trigger the soundscape.
If the connection is broken the sound pauses until contact is made once again.


In this dramatic environment of dark volcanic rock I was inspired to create a subtle sonic intervention on the landscape.
ancient vineyards or 'Currais' cover the island, a crosshatched labyrinth of stark black basalt walls protecting the vines from the brutal weather systems sweeping in off the Atlantic ocean. Within these structures there are a network of small shelters that provide refuge from the inevitable storms.

Galeria Costa is an outdoor gallery on the southern tip of the island, shadowed by the dormant Pico volcano. I visited the shelters within the outdoor gallery, collecting sounds that leaked in to each tiny space as the weather stirred up the surrounding land. I created a soundscape mirroring the rise of an incoming storm, wind whistling through lava fissures, banana trees creaking, the tap of rain on the undulating iron roofs. Using the conductive properties of the volcanic stone and the viewers own body to trigger the soundscape reflects the electronic vivaciousness of a storm, and invites the participants to consider the coarse brittle quality of geological infancy and our connection  

The poem included in the piece was written by my grandmother, who passed away during the creation of this work. During my research on the island I discovered the importance of inter-generational households, with the land being worked for generations by the same families, connected through the earth for centuries.


Currais was born of a commission to create an interactive outdoor sound installation for the durtatrion of Montanha Arts Festival hosted by Miratecarts on the remote volcanic Azores island of Pico. 



using allyou.net