Ekhō is a project in two parts. The initial exhibition was a vocal score performed in the gallery by a chorus of Amazon Echo smart speakers and a holographic mountain. This work was developed into a book of poetry and published by Upswell (2024) and Soft Skull (2025).
Exhibition
Ekhō explores the social theory and sonic phenomenon of the echo. The work is presented as a dialogue between a holographic mountain and a chorus of smart speakers who repeat concatenated phrases to each other such as 'and, and, and, and,' and 'as well as well as well as well as well'.
In Ancient Greek mythology, Ekhō was a mountain nymph who was cursed with only an echo for a voice, and who provides the origin story for our concept of the echo in Western culture. From this point through to current critiques of machine learning, the echo has been described as a condition of voicelessness, unfulfilled desire, loss and entrapment.
By placing two echoing entities in dialogue, this exhibition proposes that the echo is also link, repetition, an orienting device: a tense dance between subjects in a generative process of tuning.
You can read the exhibition's catalogue essay by Joel Stern, here.
Book
Ekhō is a poem in three parts. Through poetic narrative, this work considers the ‘echo’ as a social and historical phenomenon. From Echo, the nymph of Greek mythology whose voice was stolen by the gods, through to the advent of the Amazon Echo smart speaker, the echo has been described as a condition of voicelessness, unfulfilled desire, loss and entrapment. These poems reconsider echoing as a poetic practice, and as an orienting device that tunes the world into itself.
Shortlisted for the Mary Gilmore award.
The book is available for purchase here.