Under the Shade of a Tree is a curatorial platform to host sound walks that focus on the history of the specific site, its biodiversity, and the challenges the site faces due to climate change and over-development.
Under the Shade of a Tree:
AniAnish Cherian (India) & Holly Veselka (USA)
Mentor: Andrew McWilliams (USA)
Concept Note
‘Under the shade of a tree’ is an online platform that allows artists, activists and other collaborators to geo-tag audio recordings that can be heard only under specific geographic coordinates. Through the platform, the artists can animate trees, rivers, forests to discuss climate action, through various mediums including in the form of a story, letter, or music. The non-human narrators invite the listeners to experience the site from a non-human perspective. Therefore urging us to create a dialogue around climate action beyond the constraints of humanity.
PROJECT LINK: Coming Soon
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Site-specific audiences can vary based on the type of collaboration. For proof of concept, the Chennai site will invite an audience from schools and nature clubs.
Detailed Description
As proof of concept, ‘Under the Shade of a Tree’ will release two site-specific soundwalks, in San Marcos, Texas (developed by Holly Veselka) and in Theosophical Society HQ, Chennai (developed by Anish Cherian). These will serve as proof for developing/curating similar site-specific soundwalks around the world.
In Chennai the site through various non-human actors will describe the ecological landscapes of Chennai, borrowing from the cultural and geographical landscapes mentioned in Sangam literature. The Soundwalking will be released as curated walks with schools in Chennai.
In the Texas site, non-human actors will discuss the ownership of land by indigenous communities.
Bibliography, References and Tech Stack
- ‘Acquiring genomes’ and ‘What is Life?’ by Lynn Margulis
- https://www.forests.tn.gov.in/pages/view/biodiversity_wild
- Mackenzie Collection : a descriptive catalogue of the oriental manuscripts of South India by Collin Mackenzie
Mobile web-based detection app
- The physical showcase will involve a JS code hosted in GitHub.
- Visitors will be required to carrying their GPS enabled smart phones and a pair of headphones.
- Visitors can navigate through the different sites through their respective code.
#NON-HUMAN #ECOLOGICAL-LANDSCAPE #POST-HUMAN #SITE-SPECIFIC #GPS