How can listening process help us immerse ourselves in the processes that regulate the often invisible transformations that take place in the ‘deep time’ that marks the passing of geological eras? Using the sounds of these processes perceptible to the human ear, Hideki Umezawa and Giuseppe Cordaro give voice to a congeries of slow transformations that intersect, marking the passages of geological time. This work, which marks the first instalment of the project “Paroxysms. Sound and other volcanism” in collaboration between the Marosi festival and Liminaria/Interferenze, represents an attempt to open a space of investigation that can nourish future research directions on volcanic phenomena and territories through the device of sound art.
Umezawa and Cordaro worked for a few days in contact with the natural elements of the volcanic island of Stromboli, collecting sound materials with hydrophones, contact microphones, geophones and panoramic microphones, in a path that rises from the waves to reach the Sciara del fuoco, the steep slope formed by lava, lapilli and incandescent slag, which descends from the crater of Stromboli at an altitude of 750 m down to the sea.
The work created by the two artists was presented during a sound performance on Thursday 22 June in the evocative setting of Casa del Carrubo, the residence of Gianni Anselmo, one of the most important figures in the Arte Povera movement, at the foot of the volcano.
curators: Leandro Pisano, Giulia Ferrato