North to South and Back
May 4 – June 9 2019 ** EXTENDED until July 7 **
Opening reception May 4, 6-9PM
Artist Talk May 23, 7:30PM
SpaceHL 1303 Cullen Blvd. Houston TX 77023 503-819-9656
Part I of a sonic triptych
Zugunruhe is a word used to describe a certain kind of restlessness animals exhibit when they feel the compulsion to migrate. This urge to move was first reported by farmer and amateur naturalist Johann Naumann in the early 1800s. He noticed that caged migratory birds would flutter anxiously and show signs of shifting sleep patterns around the time that other birds of their species were beginning to migrate. Lina Dib’s immersive multi-channel sound installation, North to South and Back, exhibits this observed urge to move. The work is composed primarily of bird sounds and focuses on species that migrate yearly through Houston, TX and the surrounding region. The compositions that make up this piece also include bird sounds made by human immigrants to Houston, such as the artist herself. North to South and Back points to Houston’s diversity and highlights various ways that life on earth is marked by, and even sustained by, movement.
Zugunruhe isn’t the only force driving populations to traverse perilous distances in order to thrive. Several of the bird species featured in North to South and Back are in decline due to climate change, encroachment and deforestation. Acting as ghosts in the system and sentinels for the future, songs of extinct birds join the choruses of migrating birds and humans.
Part II – There Is No Going Back
This soundtrack has been released into a limited edition of 5 boxes here.
This exhibit is made possible in part by the City of Houston and the Houston Arts Alliance. Special thanks to the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Taylor Knapps, Paul Middendorf, Ryan McGaw, Daniela Antelo, Siddharth Bharadwaj, Rebecca Novak, Jibin Philip, Josan Pinto and to the other participants who contributed sounds.
Space HL 1303 Cullen Blvd. Houston TX 77023 503-819-9656
spacehl.org
Press and Reviews:
Anspon, C. 2019. “East End Bird Song” Paper City, June.
Sanchez, H. 2019. “Slow down and Listen: Lina Dib’s Breakthrough At Space HL” Glasstire, June, 24.
Sanchez, H. 2019. “Who are the Houston Bio-Artists?” Glasstire, May 27.
Glentzer, M. 2019. “Houston sound artist Lina Dib has a tweet fest for you,” Houston Chronicle, May 21.
Saturday May 18, 2019, 7:30pm at SpaceHL
1303 Cullen, Houston, TX
Duo Ivette Roman-Roberto and Gabriel Martinez will be performing in conversation with North to South and Back.
Birds of Spring Cocktail Pop Up!
May 23, 2019, 7:30pm-11pm at SpaceHL
1303 Cullen, Houston, TX
Transitory Sound and Movement Collective
June 3, 2019, 7:30pm at SpaceHL
1303 Cullen, Houston, TX
Transitory Sound and Movement Collective will be performing a new site-specific work “A Conversation Amongst Friends About Friends We Never Knew” within Lina Dib’s 20-channel sound installation “North to South and Back.”
