log#6_ Beyond a sound funeral

After everything was prepared, I invited passersby in the zoo to participate in this sound funeral. During the process, I received different vibrations and heard more sounds through sound.

Starting from last year's sound walk practice, I perceive sound as an irreproducible and unique event. As researcher James A. Steintrager stated, "The meaning of any sound—whether object, event, or material—is inseparable from its historical moment, site of production, or reception. Sounds need to be recognized as sedimentation of historical and social forces."

The process of the sound funeral involves elements such as music, recitation, and the use of space and body. It emphasizes a ritualistic process and vitality. I met a woman from Yemen who mourned the loss of her son, and she told me she found the 'essence' of that day; there were also bird fan who recommended experts of wild birds and the locations for bird watching; a couple from Spain sang their 'self-composed' song "little turtle dove" to the microphone, like singing a lullaby to a baby; young people showed keen interest in how these sounds and images were created; and an elder who worked at the city hall shared a lot about stories of the zoo in history, its architecture design, and animal conservation. These unique encounters became a form of social support and validation. The vibrancy of the entire event lies in the participants' ability to reconnect and establish a sense of connection, not only as witnesses to similar experiences but also as emotional support for one another, even if only for a short day. Ultimately, what matters to everyone is the part that overlaps and resonates with their own life experiences. The turtle dove, as ordinary knotted beings, "they are also always meaning-making figures that gather up those who respond to them into unpredictable kinds of 'we'." (Donna Haraway, 2008) [1]

For me, sound as an omnipresent and uncloseable source of vibrations, reconnects humans with the rhythms and cycles of nature, and in a sense, promotes a deeper understanding and appreciation of the interconnectedness of living beings.

The Victoria greenhouse, where the sound funeral took place, was designed by the renowned architect Sybold van Ravesteyn. It has now become a cultural heritage, a monument. It can no longer be remodeled, it will remain vibrating until it becomes a ruin. As “death does not take away the sense of hearing”, this place has became a witness. The mourning has a sense of eternity, like a monument. Eternity resides within commemoration. In a time where everything easily fades away, preservation is needed.

[1] Haraway, D. (2010). When Species Meet: Staying with the Trouble. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 28(1), 53–55. https://doi.org/10.1068/d2706wsh