bleached but not dead yet
sound installation 7' 30''
8.2 surround
[english] The rainforests of our underwater world, the coral reefs are in danger of extinciton. This work is about the coral bleaching events. Mainly focussing on facts about the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs.
Sadly, there've been four bleaching events in the last seven years, and right now, there's another ongoing even though in a year of La Niña, when more rain and cooler temperatures were supposed to provide a moment of respite for sensitive corals to recover. Briefly recapped: "the ocean is becoming too warm and acidic for the organisms that live there and the acid is killing coral and many thousands of species." - climatefoundation.org
The composition is phrased in a timeline over the last 30 years. (1993-2022) The six mass bleaching events are shown in a sudden way, 15 seconds each, no more visuals on the ground - whispers of hard climate crisis facts and almost no soundscapes. Mass bleaching events happend in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2020 and right now, 2022.
The sound installation is filled with found articles spoken by Gabriela Jones and Daryl Jones, hydrofon recordings, found footage of coral reef sounds, underwater soundscapes and over 30 sea dwellers.
What is coral bleaching?
"When corals are stressed, they expel the zooxanthellae* that live inside their tissues. Without the algae to provide colour, corals appear transparent and reveal their white skeletons.
This is called coral bleaching. Bleached corals are not dead, but are more at risk of starvation and disease." - barrierreef.org
Narrators: Gabriela Jones, Daryl Jones
Visuals: Found Footage, Sina Joelle
Photos: Stefano Christen
*zooxanthellaeCorals get most of their bright colours from microscopic algae that grows inside the polyps’ tissues. This algae, called zooxanthellae, helps corals by removing waste and using it to produce food in a process known as photosynthesis.
- Mai 2022