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‹ Sound Funeral › is a sound event/installation born out for the European Turtle Dove, a species on the verge of extinction.

At this sound rite, participants are invited to read the mourning poem for the turtle dove. All voices become energy and comfort, carrying the weight of aspiration and loss. Words, images, human voices and urban soundscape interweave and resonate.

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For me, it is a natural thing to mourn the turtle dove through sound. We use our voices to read a poem to mourn the turtle doves, listen to what the turtle doves are usually listening to and what they are dreaming about, it's a small, unobtrusive funeral. Biologists found that there are many parallels between human language acquisition and birdsong learning, though we have yet to see evidence of such a phenomenon in apes. 

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As the only migratory dove in Europe, it is often hunted along the Mediterranean Sea on its way to Africa. This fact may elude many, as turtle dove pale in comparison to better-known endangered species. Humans and animals alike have put forth great physical and emotional effort in adapting to each other's presence. Animals, it seems, have always been willing to cooperate, haven't they? They take the risks, and reveal to us the inherent tension. Death often lurks in the midst of adaptation. I think respect for animals also fosters respect for people. When animals suffer, most of us cannot help but feel their pain.

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I wish to preserve some evidence through sounds, to bear witness to the fragments that constantly vanish around us, to the overlooked things that exist. Will the European turtle dove can only prove its existence through its disappearance, like many of us. Before it became a mythical symbol of Greek goddess Demeter, who presides over grain and the earth's fertility, it was first and foremost a turtle dove. The act of mourning, at least for a brief three minutes, we seem to be thinking wholeheartedly about what is happening and what it means to us to mourn animals. Perhaps what we need to grieve, is more than just a turtle dove.

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“Perhaps death does not take away the sense of hearing, because hearing does not need a subject. ” (Kang He, 2016) This sound funeral probably means the same thing, it's creating a subtle vibration, and its receivers are everywhere.

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‹ 声音葬礼 › 是为悼念欧洲斑鸠而生发的声音事件。

 

在这个声音葬礼上，悼念者的声音是能量和慰借，同时负担了愿望和损失的重量。悼亡诗、影像、人声、城市声景纠缠共振，像大家在一块聊了个天。

 

对我来说，用声音哀悼欧洲斑鸠的亡灵是很自然的方式，也无需套着宗教习俗的外衣。大家用各自的声音，用读诗的方式来悼念斑鸠，听下斑鸠平时都在听什么，看看它们都在做什么梦。一个不张扬的小葬礼。生物学家说人类学习语言的方式有很多方式与鸣禽学习唱歌相似，但在大猩猩身上没有看到类似的东西。我用这个发现，合理化了这场声音葬礼。

 

我也想尝试保留一些声音的证据，证明那些在我们身边不断消失的片段。欧洲斑鸠会不会只能通过消失来证明自己的存在，和我们当中的很多人一样。在它成为掌控谷物和地球生育的希腊女神德墨忒尔的神话象征之前，它首先是一只斑鸠。悼念这个行为，至少在那短暂的三分钟里，人们看起来全心全意在想着发生了什么，想着悼念一只动物对自己意味着什么。或许我们需要悼念的，不止一只斑鸠。

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读到过一句话：​也许死亡并不夺走听觉，因为听觉并不需要主体。这个声音葬礼大概也有这层意思，它在制造一种细微的波动，其接收者无处不在。

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