Aural Oral III
Curated by Roxane Alaime
La Conserverie. Marrakech, Morocco.
February 19th, 2019
Curated by Roxane Alaime
La Conserverie. Marrakech, Morocco.
February 19th, 2019
Aural Oral is a series of site-specific studies and sensorial junctures in agricultural research, offering a sensorial reflection on processes of cultivation and consumption. The meal pairs an auditory archive of its ingredients with its ingestion, implementing various microphones to transmit a series of recordings of culinary and cultivation actions coupled with environmental sounds from the site of production. Each accompanying track sketches a sonic cartography of the dish, amplifying the micro-actions of both the farm and the kitchen, proposing resonant reflections of its cultivation and consumption to extend beyond the domain of the gustatory. Aural Oral draws reference to acoustemological research, as coined by Stephen Feld, that valorizes methodologies of “knowing-with and knowing-through the audible.
Aural Oral explores a meal in the form of a sonic and performative moment in agricultural research, proposing a sensorial reflection of both processes of cultivation and consumption. The meal pairs an auditory archive of its ingredients with its ingestion; each accompanying track sketches a sonic cartography of the dish, amplifying the micro-actions of both the farm and the kitchen. Through the implementation of various types of microphones, Aural Oral renders a series of recordings of culinary and cultivation actions coupled with environmental sounds from the site of production. The ambient soundscape posits an examination of subtle processes, offering a sensorial relationship with the meal that extends beyond the domain of the gustatory. Aural Oral draws reference to acoustemological research, as coined by Stephen Feld, that valorizes methodologies of “knowing-with and knowing-through the audible.” [1]
For this edition of the series, a collaboration with two organic farms, Domaine Sauvage and Sanctuary Slimane, based at the foot of the Atlas Mountains outside of Marrakech, fertilized a sonic research of cultivation practices. A simultaneous six-week culinary residency with a group of women in a kitchen in the Agafay desert explored the traditions of cooking in the region. Sound recording was done on the farm during harvests and in the kitchen during production, creating an extended ambient reflection upon these two sites and their processes. The meal coalesced into a survey of taste and sound, presenting an amalgamation of the six-week research that featured seasonal produce selected by both the artist and farmers. Aural Oral coincided with a group exhibition at La Conserverie during the 154 Contemporary African Art Fair, in which a series of images of ingredients from Domaine Sauvage and Sanctuary Slimane were exhibited, highlighting produce picked from the farms and used in the menu.
Special thanks to La Pause Residency, Domaine Sauvage, Sanctuary Slimane, Rachida Dedhah, Rachida Khairoune, Mina Lamrid, Saida, Sanna, and Hasna.
[1] Stephen Feld quote on Aural Oral IV
Aural Oral explores a meal in the form of a sonic and performative moment in agricultural research, proposing a sensorial reflection of both processes of cultivation and consumption. The meal pairs an auditory archive of its ingredients with its ingestion; each accompanying track sketches a sonic cartography of the dish, amplifying the micro-actions of both the farm and the kitchen. Through the implementation of various types of microphones, Aural Oral renders a series of recordings of culinary and cultivation actions coupled with environmental sounds from the site of production. The ambient soundscape posits an examination of subtle processes, offering a sensorial relationship with the meal that extends beyond the domain of the gustatory. Aural Oral draws reference to acoustemological research, as coined by Stephen Feld, that valorizes methodologies of “knowing-with and knowing-through the audible.” [1]
For this edition of the series, a collaboration with two organic farms, Domaine Sauvage and Sanctuary Slimane, based at the foot of the Atlas Mountains outside of Marrakech, fertilized a sonic research of cultivation practices. A simultaneous six-week culinary residency with a group of women in a kitchen in the Agafay desert explored the traditions of cooking in the region. Sound recording was done on the farm during harvests and in the kitchen during production, creating an extended ambient reflection upon these two sites and their processes. The meal coalesced into a survey of taste and sound, presenting an amalgamation of the six-week research that featured seasonal produce selected by both the artist and farmers. Aural Oral coincided with a group exhibition at La Conserverie during the 154 Contemporary African Art Fair, in which a series of images of ingredients from Domaine Sauvage and Sanctuary Slimane were exhibited, highlighting produce picked from the farms and used in the menu.
Special thanks to La Pause Residency, Domaine Sauvage, Sanctuary Slimane, Rachida Dedhah, Rachida Khairoune, Mina Lamrid, Saida, Sanna, and Hasna.
[1] Stephen Feld quote on Aural Oral IV
RECORDING WAS DONE AT DOMAINE SAUVAGE DURING HARVEST AND IN THE KITCHEN AT AGAFAY DURING PRODUCTION, CREATING AN AMBIENT REFLECTION UPON THESE TWO SITES AND PROCESSES. THE MEAL PRESENTED A COALESCENCE OF THE SIX-WEEK RESEARCH, FEATURING SEASONAL PRODUCE SELECTED BY THE ARTIST AND FARMERS.
