There Is No Going Back, 2019
20-channel sound installation
Sculpture Month Houston
October 12 – November 30, 2019
Lina Dib’s multi-channel sound installation focuses on survival – species survival, human survival and our planets survival. Part II of a sonic triptych, this installation expands her recent work Part I – North to South and Back. The triptych focuses on migration and the biological phenomenon of Zugunruhe, a word used to describe a certain kind of restlessness animals exhibit when they feel the compulsion to migrate.
Part III – Here and Now
Zugunruhe is not the only force driving populations to traverse perilous distances in order to thrive. The bird species featured in this piece are in decline due to climate change, habitat encroachment and deforestation. Acting as ghosts in the system and sentinels for the future are also recordings of song birds that are extinct. Added to the choruses of endangered and extinct birds are sounds of outer space recorded by NASA, suggesting that humans may be looking to space for potential migration sites as we test the limits of our survival here on Earth. There Is No Going Back speaks of catastrophe while amplifying the spectacles of nature. The silos act as sonic bridges between extinction and memory, outer space and imagination. The work is part of an ongoing reflection on how we survive loss, enact change and project ourselves into the future.
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This soundtrack has been released into a limited edition of 5 boxes here.
Press and Reviews:
Foster, M. 2019. “Sculpture Month Houston Will Take You Out of This World: Outta Space delights as it questions our relationship to Earth and the cosmos. Houstonia, November 19.
Maiato, L. 2019. “Houston’s Outer Space Party Tests the Limits of Fundraising for Sculpture Month: When Art Appears in Unexpected Places,” Papercity, November 19.
Glentzer, M. 2019. “Sculpture Month Houston gets trippy with ‘Outta Space,’” Houston Chronicle, November 14.