2023.11 SONIC WEATHERS: Sensory Ecologies of the Changing Himalayas
“SONIC WEATHERS: Sensory Ecologies of the Changing Himalayas” is an installation and sonic performance by Shariq Muhammad Shah and Pravah Khandekar, in collaboration with Aakaash Rao, Manaswi Mishra, Volkan Efe, and Shivesh Sood.
The ecology of the Trans-Himalayas has always evaded capture. Traversing present-day Nepal, India, Pakistan, it has simultaneously been seen as a patchwork of spiritual beacons, ancient civilizations, military occupations, and points of hydrological control. It is characterized, at once, by a cacophony of both dissonant and harmonious changes.
Its makeup has thus historically betrayed static representations, transforming just as quickly as it is documented. Colonial maps and geographic surveys seek to capture one, singular moment of the Himalayas, yet are rendered ineffective in interpreting its change.
Transformed by glacial melt, species extinction, avalanches, and infrastructure installation, these changes now recompose the territory of the Himalaya at a faster rate than ever before.
However, this regional change is registered at the scale of the sensory. Villages wake to disappearing bird sounds, the crack of landslides mark the passing of seasons, and cargo trucks roar through freshly paved roads. The senses have become the sites of this territorial precarity.
SONIC WEATHERS, then, forms a dialogue between a precarious sonic ecology and the sensorial experience of its changing atmosphere. Composing four musicians from various parts of the Himalaya, the performance uses live composition to interpret its sonic transformation. Such changes are constructed on-site using frequencies of wind patterns, bird calls, and river flows.
We locate SONIC WEATHERS as an anti-globalized and more-than-human sensation of the Trans-Himalaya’s rapid transformations. They betray prediction, forecast, and dictation, crafting an atmosphere of unpredictability. At Kirkland Gallery, we invite the audience to engage with this dialogue between the sonic and atmospheric, and planetary and the personal.
Shariq Muhammad Shah (@shariq.m.shah) is an interdisciplinary designer and researcher. His work addresses issues of disaster imaginaries and de-colonial Ecologies across South Asia. He is currently a Master’s candidate at Harvard University, Graduate School of Design.
Pravah Khandekar (@jj_ka_saadhu) is a transdisciplinary artist, vocalist, and composer trained in Hindustani Classical and Dhrupad traditions in India. He is presently a master’s candidate at Harvard University, Graduate School of Design.
Aakaash Rao is a pianist, composer, and PhD candidate at the Harvard Department of Economics. He works on questions at the intersection of voting behavior, the media, and political campaigns.
Manaswi Mishra (@eardrummerman) is a graduate researcher in the Opera of the Future, MIT Media Lab and a LEGO Pappert Fellow. His research explores strategies and frameworks for a new age of composing, performing, and learning music using A.I. He also holds an MS in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT, MS in Music Technology from UPF, Barcelona and BTech from Indian Institute of Technology Madras.
Originally from central Turkey, Volkan Efe (@efevolkan) has been exploring classical, folk and ceremonial forms of Turkish music as well as the healing aspects of the Makam system of Turkish music. Besides oud, Volkan plays ney, tanbur, kanun and Kemençe.
Shivesh Sood (@shivesh.sood) is an Engineer + Designer + Entrepreneur from Bangalore, India. He is passionate about creating positive impact through climate and agriculture interventions. Previously, he was the Founder-CEO of Hyperbloom Agritech, a startup that created inclusive innovations for small farmers in India. He is a master's candidate at the MDE program at the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University.
