Soundscape No.2: The Last Dialogue

The Last dialogue

Artist Statement


“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” in the Bibel Rev 21:4.

What are the sounds of dying？How to present the bitter feelings and painful emotions behind the sounds？It’s really hard to image clearly. Compare with the classical works in the visual art history, using sounds to describe death is quite a complex problem. An important sound artist, Yannick Dauby, have tried to record the sounds of an insect dying before. It sounded quite peacefully, leaded the listener to think about death in an alternative way.

In this work , i did not capture the last picture of a human life journey. It recorded ordinary scenery happened in a ward with my family, estimating the blood pressure, the tender reminding etc coincidently.

Suddenly, my mother passed away the day before yesterday, and it just became the last dialogue between us. It sounds ridiculous for me because somehow I try to find the sounds describing death difficultly. Finally, the last words spoken from my mom to me is powerful and heart-breaking than any other sensational sounds. I just try to maintain the original sounds recording, using less post-production techniques in this work to memorize my mom and invite the audience actively listen the trauma behind the sounds with me.

Sound diary No.6 - 20111108

Recently, my mon's physical condition is coming rapidly worse and worse. Sometimes it's really hurt to listen to her weak breathing and small volumes speaking like whispering. Beyond the weak voice, i just feel strong spirits behind. Although i know maybe we are closing the moment to face her death, these sounds of dying still make me feel so afraid. Because it's really too harsh to be true.