The Catacombs: Archaeoacoustics is the study of sound as a methodological approach in archaeology. Concerned with unlocking the secrets of the distant past through sound, one branch of archeoacoustics posits the existence of messages from the past encoded within ancient pottery. These terrestrial vessels have travelled through vast expanses of time in the same way as the Voyager’s Golden records travel through stellar space. Both serve as documents and ambassadors from a faraway world.
Through etchings, monoprints, paintings, ceramic sculptures, text and audio/visual elements, The Catacombs explores notions put forth by archaeoacoustics, including the translation of vibrations into sound, and acoustic content contained in ancient artifacts. The centerpiece of the show is a machine built by the artist to record sound waves onto ceramic objects.
Multifaceted and interactive, The Catacombs is a meditation on the phenomenological marvels that exist just beyond our present perception, and humanity’s limitless curiosity about the enigmas of life on earth.