About the project

Yearning for the sea: An immersive sound installation

 

The wishing well transforms a fountain into an interactive stage where individual and collective dreams, wishes, and hopes are explored through a sound installation. Visitors can experience these in real-time by engaging in physical interactions and interventions with the water. The project integrates thoughts and inputs in real-time, creating a dynamic composition.

 

The installation explores the aspirations and dreams of people embarking on journeys, connecting their dreams with those of the audience through these soundscapes. Sounds are transmitted live from the mediterranean by LNS-INFN / Laboratori Nazionali del Sud, symbolizing a connection between the dreamers and their journeys.

 

Ways to listen to the composition at the fountain:

 

Sit and hold a listening tube to your ear: Sit comfortably and hold a listening tube to your ear to experience the sounds transmitted through the water.

 

Explore near the water surface: Discover how the sounds unfold near the water's surface by holding your ear close to the water.

 

Uncover surprises: Find out what surprises the composition and the water have in store and discover your own way of experiencing the composition.

What are the aspirations and wishes we chase as humans?

 

The fountain, a universal symbol of the need for the life-giving element of water, provides the theatrical space and narrative for this artistic exploration, offering a variety of ways to illuminate different aspects of this theme performatively.

 

Using a plug-in on the website, the audience's dreams and wishes are integrated into an audio-visual sound installation in real-time. Sensors in the fountain respond to water movements, and aquaphones alter interactive sounds, allowing the audience to intervene live in the composition and literally immerse themselves in it. The sensory properties of water are explored, and sounds from the Mediterranean are streamed live to create a connection to the dreams of those who sought hope on their journey across the Mediterranean.

 

Audience interaction and cultural education through workshops are integral parts of the project. Through the website, people from around the world can connect with the project to "throw" their own wishes and messages into the fountain.

 

Future performance sites will include various public fountains in different cities. The wishes, dreams, and hopes of the local audience will be integrated live into the composition and the specially written libretto. This makes the audience part of the installation. Subsequently, the audio-visual sound installation, which engages with the medium of water—from its tactile qualities to its sound and visual appeal—will explore various processes of hearing, feeling, and perceiving. The perception of water in all its sensory properties leads the audience into a state of connectedness and presence.

 

Background

As artists, we have been exploring the intersection of digitality and art, as well as science and art, for several years. We are particularly interested in formats that connect the analog and digital spaces, incorporate actors, singers, and musicians into the production, and do not exclude the live experience of attending a performance. The core idea arose after listening to a radio segment about "noise pollution" in the Mediterranean. The notion that, amid ongoing refugee flows, someone might be permanently listening to the Mediterranean as a stationary observer struck us as tragic, poetic, and simultaneously frivolous. From this concept, we developed the idea of artistically exploring the element of water further.

 

"The wishing well" is envisioned as a hybrid production that bridges the analog and digital worlds, combining theater and installation, with the goal of creating an accessible entry point for a broad audience. The project brings together various artistic disciplines, providing a space for interaction between the audience and participating artists. It raises the question of which individual or collective dreams, wishes, and hopes can be realized, and which ones, along with their protagonists, might sink, for instance, off the coasts of Europe. It seeks to explore these themes by integrating real-time audience input into a sound installation. By engaging with water's sensory properties, the project delves into processes of hearing, feeling, and perceiving. It invites the audience to experience a state of connectedness and presence, symbolizing the broader human quest for hope and aspiration.