Book chapter in Gothic in the Oceanic South Maritime, Marine and Aquatic Uncanny in Southern Waters Edited By Allison Craven, Diana Sandars
Acidification is a performance for cello and underwater soundscapes created for “Returning to the Gothic Ocean” symposium in 2021. The work explores the past, present, and possible futures of the Great Barrier Reef and is the first collaboration between interdisciplinary sound scholars Leah Barclay and Briony Luttrell. The work draws on ecoacoustic hydrophone (underwater) recordings submerging listeners in the sonic environment of the diverse and fragile marine ecosystems surrounding the Reef. The recordings document death and ecotoxicity and form part of a large-scale interdisciplinary research project designed to explore sound as a measure for health and call to action in ecological crisis. The soundscape explores acidification, extinction, and the urgent need for interdisciplinary action and is the first in a trilogy of works exploring different approaches to presenting ecological sound art for diverse audiences. This chapter introduces the reader to this piece and provides a brief exegesis that explains the Gothic influences on this project.