And Then the Sea Came back

BACKGROUND In recent years, there has been a new ‘radio turn’ in contemporary art. Radio Art has been become an important digitally driven art movement growing in response to the informative technological revolution. Artists commonly approach radio as a platform distinct form the commodities marketplace of media entertainment and instead use radio as a site for experimentation, performance and participatory transaction. ‘And When the sea Comes Back’ specifically seeks to expand this field by engaging creative research with sound art and radiophonic narrative to explore personal stories of natural disaster and climate change. CONTRIBUTION: And then the Sea Came Back is a radiophonic narrative / sound art work that details the moments before the 2004 tsunami struck Aceh, Indonesia. Integrating field research, field recordings and a fictional character called the ‘geolinguist’, the work focuses on the intimate and lasting effects of environmental change and dispossession. SIGNIFICANCE: This work was commissioned by Radio National's Soundproof programme in partnership with Liquid Architecture ($1000) and was Jury nominated for best digital music and sound art work by Prix Ars Electronica 2017. It has subsequently been presented at Documenta 14 Radio (2017), RMIT Gallery Melbourne (2017) and the Coventry Biennial of Art (2021).