Mirrors is a sound installation that follows the acoustic journey of the Minke Whale as it travels from Antarctica to Namibia. A collaboration between HIFMB based artist-researcher Geraint Rhys and Marine Acoustic scientist Dr Ilse van Opzeeland it charts how the vocalizations of the Minke changes with a change in location as it migrates across the oceans.
Lasting 5 minutes, Mirrors combines real acoustic data collected by the Ocean Acoustic Group at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, with a stroyline narrative that emphasises the importance of sound in the marine world.
It immerses the audience in the soundscapes of the deep ocean focusing on how the vocalizations of the Minke whale changes as it moves. Not only do we hear the sounds of the Minke Whale, but also the call of other mammals including orcas and humpback whales, as well as the negative impact that anthropgenic noise is having on these soundscapes.
To replicate the movement of the Minke whale as it makes its journey to Namibia from Antarctica, the speakers were triggered in a sequence so that the audience would follow the sounds and move around the room in one direction, as if replcating the movement of the Minke Whale.
Thus, making movement a fundamental component of the installation.
This piece was created specifically for the HIFMB symposium and displayed at the Landesmuseum Natur und Mensch, Oldenburg.
Over 100 people attended the exhibition over two days and feedback from the installation will be reflected on and turned in to an academic contribution on art-science collaborations and the ocean.