Sounding line: exhibition by Mella Shaw at The McManus, Dundees Art Gallery and Museum. –
Sounding Line is an immersive ceramic installation that explores the devastating effect of marine sound and sonar pollution on whale species. The large-scale sculptural forms are inspired by whales’ tiny inner-ear bones (modeled on a wahel washed up at Loch Long, Argyll). They are made from a unique clay body using whale bone ash – the same way cow bones have been used for centuries to make bone china.
The project takes its name from a sounding line, a length of rope with a weight used by mariners to measure the depth of water. In the installation, Mella wraps her sculptures in red marine rope that resonate with sonar pulse. Encouraged to touch the ropes, visitors will feel these vibrations, reflecting how marine life experience sonar underwater.
Visit the Dundee exhibition: https://www.mcmanus.co.uk/exhibitions/mella-shaw-sounding-line
The film documents a journey that Shaw made to An Doirlinn beach, Boidsale, South Uist. She drags the sculture along the beach using the red marine rope used the gallery. Once it reaches the sea, the clay slowly dissolves in the salt water.
