Sirens

Sirens

2018. Brass, plastic, conduit, and recorded voices. 7’x4’x4’.

This sculpture reimagines the function of the contemporary civil defense siren. Rather than projecting conventional warning tones, Sirens plays intermittent recordings of songs of distress as a call to action.

Civil defense sirens are used to provide warnings of approaching danger and to indicate when danger has passed. Sirens were initially designed to warn citizens of air raids in World War II, but many are no longer operational. In Greek mythology, the Sirens were dangerous creatures who lured nearby sailors with enchanting music to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.

Featuring the voices of Kate Bass, Laura Esparza, Michael Anthony García, Heloise Gold, Katelena Hernandez Cowles, Jebney Lewis, Alex Keller, Andrea Mellard, Anjali Niyogi, Jason Phelps, Oliver Scales, Julie Slim, and Sara Vanderbeek.