Tribute to Whistle (2019)
for Natascha Sadr Haghigian’s »Ankersentrum«, audio
for Natascha Sadr Haghigian’s »Ankersentrum«, audio
Deutscher Pavillon, 58. Biennale von Venedig. Photo by Jasper Kettner
“Tribute to Whistle” was one of the rooms of the installation Ankersentrum (Surviving in The Ruinous Ruin) by Natascha Sadr Haghighian, shown as part of the German pavillion at the Venice Biennale 2019. The artist commissioned musical contributions for the room by Jessica Ekomane, Maurice Louca, DJ Marfox, Jako Maron, Tisha Mukarji and Elnaz Seyedi, based on the sound of whistle. The use of the sound was a reference to reports of its use as self-defense device against law enforcement abuse in german’s anchor centers.
The resulting five pieces presented two speculative sound scenarios, based on the idea of using the whistle as a communication tool for self-organization, by re-appropriating and re-purposing law enforcement tools and techniques.
I. Off-shore
a) moderato (1:56 min)
b) vivace (0:47 min)
c) duet (0:32 min)
d) Calling all, this is our last cry before our eternal silence (1:27 min)
This first part consists of four pieces using the Boatswain’s call as a sound source. This loud and high-pitched whistle is used by the Navy to pass commands to the crew in situations when the voice could not be heard over the sounds of the sea. I imagined two to four people piping their coordinates to each other from each side of the Central Mediterranean Route. They end on the sentence ‘Calling all. This is our last cry before our eternal silence’ – the final message transmitted by the French navy when the morse code was internationally abandoned.
II. Message to the Youth (2.48 min)
A fictional sound scenario of a group of four young people warning of police presence by using dog whistles, and secretly whistling the note A-C-A-B.
Credits
Medium: Multichannel sound piece
Dimensions: Variable
Commissioned by: Natasha Sadr Haghigian
Pavillion curator: Franciska Zólyom
Exhibition history
Ankersentrum, German pavillon, 58th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (May You Live In Interesting Times), Venice, Runs: 11.5–24.10.2019
Ankersentrum, Structura Gallery, Sofia, Runs: 11.03.2020 - 28.03.2020
Brückenmusik 26: Natascha Sadr Haghighian‘s Tribute to Whistle, Deutzer Brücke, Köln, Runs: 20.–29.08.2021
Now that I can hear you my eyes hurt (Tumult), Natascha Sadr Haghighian, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau München, Runs: 23.05–08.10.2023
Press and other texts
Natascha Süder Happelmann – Ankersentrum (surviving in the ruinous ruin), Natascha Sadr Haghigian, Archive Books, 2019.
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