from a whale’s back

VIDEO INSTALLATION: FROM A WHALE’S BACK

BY Yolande Harris

From a Whale’s Back (2020) is an installation that explores the visual and sonic underwater world inhabited by whales of different species—orcas, humpbacks, and minke whales—from Antarctica to the northeastern Pacific. It uses video taken from tags used by scientists to monitor whales.

Yolande Harris (UK/US) explores ideas of sonic consciousness, using sound and image to create intimate visceral experiences that heighten awareness of our relationship to the environment and other species. Her projects on underwater sound encourage connection, understanding and empathy with the ocean. Yolande is Associate Researcher and lecturer in digital media art and environmental sound at University of California Santa Cruz and lecturer in digital media art at San Jose State University. Previously Assistant Professor in film/animation/video at Rhode Island School of Design, she has held major research fellowships at Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, Jan van Eyck Academy, Netherlands Institute for Media Arts and UCLA Art|Sci Center. She presents her work internationally, including Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, the House of World Cultures Berlin, the Exploratorium in San Francisco and Ars Electronica Festival. Yolande studied at Edinburgh University, Dartington College of Arts, has an MPhil from Cambridge University and a PhD from Leiden University.