Sea Ice: Voices from a Frozen Ocean

Chris Watson's latest work Sea Ice: Voices from a Frozen Ocean premieres at La Casa Encendida's ARTe SONoro, the first sound art exhibition ever held in Madrid.

Recorded on location in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, during January 2010, Sea Ice: Voices from a Frozen Ocean is a series of five soundtracks revealing the sonic transformation of antarctic sea ice from solid to fluid during the Austral summer season.

1: Glacial calving
At 78 degrees south the Barne glacier calves onto the surface of the Ross Sea, which in September is frozen to depth of around 3m. The huge mechanical forces created by the meeting of these two frozen waters is revealed in this recording, not on the surface, but from deep within the ice itself.

2: Pressure ridges
In November the sea ice is on the move. Tidal actions and far distant ocean currents cause huge slabs of sea ice to fracture and ride up upon each other creating pressure ridges which are huge angular sculptures the size of buildings. This recording reveals the strangely musical character of the forces acting upon the ice from beneath.

3: Slush ice
By December the sea ice is reducing and sea water percolates into the cracks creating a thick, semi frozen slush. The mechanical thump and grind is now replaced by the long, slow rhythm of ebb and flow as a sea swell pushes towards the coastline.

4: Weddell seals
These are large animals weighing around 750Kg which navigate in the waters under
the ice and surface to breathe in tidal cracks. Weddell seals are very vocal underwater,
establishing and maintaining territories with an array of drifting musical tones which
carry deep into the ocean below.

5: Orca
During January large cracks open up in the sea ice allowing the passage of Orca, killer whales, into the leads and navigable passages of floating ice. These large predators travel in social groups known as Pods. Orca hunt penguins, seals and fish, cooperating as a pod, by using their highly sophisticated language and echo locations to find their prey. The deep dark waters under the sea ice is filled by their eloquent songs and signals.

Chris Watson is a sound recordist specialising in natural history, with a particular and passionate interest in recording the wildlife sounds of animals, habitats and atmospheres from around the world. His work as a wildlife sound recordist includes both television documentaries and experimental music collaborations.

Exhibition

22 April - 13 June 2010 | Exposición ARTe SONoro | Madrid, ES

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