Oceanic Refractions

Scent design for the immersive installation ‘Oceanic Refractions’, at Kuppelhalle, silent green, Berlin. A CTM Festival and transmediale collaboration, 26th Jan – 4th Feb 2024.

In crafting the scent, we wanted a realistic representation of the Pacific Ocean, so I based my formula on notes of brine, seaweed in the sun, tropical storms, algae, and pollution.

Oceanic Refractions features the testimonies of Fijian, i-Kiribati and Papua New Guinean elders on kinship, self-determination and care in the face of global ecocide. Along with reflections from these teachers, artists, fisherpeople, grandparents and chiefs, we hear field recordings of the reefs of Fiji, the oceans and mangroves of Kiribati, and the shorelines of Papua New Guinea’s Duke of York Islands.

We had seen this happening. The birds have been flying off. We're just not listening to what the birds say.

- Prof Unaisi Nabobo-Baba

Through hyper-detailed soundscape compositions, combined with 360 videography, kinetic seating, and olfactory effects, Oceanic Refractions creates an unforgettable sensorial experience. Moved by listening and silence, the work offers audiences rare insights into the environmental relations sustaining Oceania’s many worlds.

For more details about the project, see the website oceanicrefractions.org and Instagram