[] (THE STORM REMEMBERED/REACTIVATED)
[](The Storm Remembered/Reactivated) was created in collaboration with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to recognize the 35th anniversary of the infamous (and still unsolved) art heist from 1990.
After spending many hours in front of the empty frame, I started to see its potential as a “portal” that could allow for visitors to travel back in time and bear witness to Jesus’ story depicted so masterfully by Rembrandt.
Upon approaching the empty frame in the gallery, a field recording is heard -- calm water gently lapping, alive with native bird song of the region. Standing in front of the frame activates the story’s apex, allowing museum visitors to experience the stolen masterpiece through another sense -- bringing it back, if only for a moment, through the act of listening.
The stormscape for [](The Storm Remembered/Reactivated) was created using spatial audio techniques often employed in video game sound design. While the piece was ultimately presented through a single ultrasonic “audio beam” system for focused projection, the spatial audio mix still evoked a powerful psychoacoustic sense of peril.
The waves begin low, steadily rising and rolling over the listener, ultimately engulfing the boat as they crash down around the disciples and the sleeping Jesus. The shifting materiality of the vessel -- the creak of wooden planks and the snap of canvas sails -- moves dynamically throughout the mix, mimicking the violent rocking of the boat as it heaves and pitches. The soundscape only returns to a centered stillness after Jesus has calmed the storm, reinforcing the narrative's dramatic shift from chaos to peace.
