Ca’ Foscari, Venice
20.03 – 30.09.2022
“Last Whispers” was an initiative promoted by UNESCO for the safeguarding of indigenous languages, which are increasingly threatened with extinction. This project combined sounds and visual elements, merging ancient songs and oral traditions with images of nature, creating a space that connects the present with the past. During the “International Decade of Indigenous Languages” (2022-2032), “Last Whispers” aimed to honor extinct languages and promote the preservation of those at risk of disappearing.
The project “Last Whispers: Immersive Oratorio for Vanishing Voices, Collapsing Universes and a Falling Tree,” conceived by Lena Herzog, an American artist and photographer, focused on the extinction of languages. Curated by Silvia Burini, Maria Gatti Racah, Giulia Gelmi, and Anastasia Kozachenko-Stravinsky, the project featured a spatialized sound work that combined speeches, ritual chants, and natural sounds with frequencies from space.
Herzog used recordings from major linguistic archives, such as the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme at SOAS University of London, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Rosetta Project. The project was supported by the Jim Marilyn Simons Foundation.
“Last Whispers” was presented at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice from April to September 2022 in three main formats:
- An immersive virtual reality version, available individually from April 21 to July 30 in Tesa 1 at Ca’ Foscari Zattere.
- A site-specific installation displayed in the main courtyard of Ca’ Foscari from April 21 to September 30.
- An audiovisual projection of the work, presented on June 18 in the central courtyard of Ca’ Foscari during Art Night 2022.
Preview Image: Work by Lena Herzog
Image: Lena Herzog
