Overheard | Underwater

DURATION: 012’29” MEDIA: SOUNDSCAPE INSTALLATION VENUE: The New Bedford Whaling Museum
Overheard Underwater uses historic whale recordings, the artist's own soundscapes, maps, photographs, and drawings of the contemporary ocean to challenge the deafening legacy of whaling. This project dramatizes the importance of protecting the migratory routes of whales in a changing climate.

Premiered at the New Bedford Whaling Museum (May-November 2025), Overheard Underwater invites audiences to reestablish intimacy with the sea at a time when our oceans and coastal communities are more vulnerable than we have ever known. The exhibit amplifies the ephemeral beauty of whale songs to confront a noisy future.

Working from the Museum’s historic collection of bioacoustic data, Overheard Underwater features signature hydrophone recordings from the expeditions that led to the discovery that whales not only vocalize, but sing intelligent songs. The sounds of whales, seals, and the artist's own field recordings echo through the gallery, while vast visuals and artifacts from the museum’s collection hold the eye.