Freya Powell

Spaces of Exception is a multi-channel, immersive sound installation that uses the voice as a medium to speak to the ambiguous loss experienced as a result of ‘Prevention Through Deterrence’, a US immigration policy along the US-Mexico border. Through speech and song, the piece plays sonically with ideas of echo and mirage, aurally exploring the experience of ambiguous loss and ideas of public grievability concerning the lives lost in the hostile terrain of the desert. The performers take on the role of an ancient Greek chorus, becoming a collective voice of mourning, expressing an elegy for the unidentified dead. Their voices merge and divide, testing pitch, intonation, breath, pacing, and silence from operatic singing to theatrical utterances, narrating the realities of this contemporary tragedy.

Ensemble:
Renee Lavalle
Shanna Iglesius
Allison Gish
Joy Tamayo
Sophie Delphis
Karina Parker-Mura

Choral Composition:
Samuel Lang Budin
Allison Gish
Joy Tamayo
Sophie Delphis
Karina Parker-Mura

commissioned by Thanatic ethics, premiered at videotage in Hong Kong, 2024.