ZÄRTLICH GEHT DIE WELT ZUGRUNDE: STILL LOOKING FOR MEDUSA is a tribute to corals, the sensitive critters of Gaia’s underwater realms, showcasing their profound ability to forge symbiotic relationships. Corals, as holobionts for zooxanthellae, epitomize interdependence; as reefs, they offer shelter to many marine creatures; as strong formations, they modulate the ocean’s ebb and flow into gentler currents. As the ancient ancestors of Medusa, they hold the spirit of nature’s often misunderstood and transformative powers. Medusa herself, a female figure of Greek mythology, represents the recurring theme of metamorphosis and the complex dynamics of power and seduction, banished to safeguard the male gaze.

Through a rich saturation of marine bioacoustics, noise pollution, mythic tones, Nina M. W. Queißner and Linda Weiß beckon you to immerse yourself in the deep, dark blue soundscape. Here, lose your way, welcome the feeling of otherness, and give yourself to the waves of yearning, and acknowledge cold shivers. Picture Medusa, whose symbiosis sustains the life that thrives beneath the waves.

underwater sound recordings: Coral reefs (Red Sea, Egypt), shipping traffic on the Main River and the English Channel of the Alabaster Coast; additional sound recordings: Baking soda in water, hot oil, ice cubes, crystal glass and water, tadpoles, rain on polyamide, etc., synthesizer, melodica, Sansa.

NINA M. W. QUEIßNER adopts a poetic and research-oriented approach using recording technologies and soundscape composition to explore the experiential dimensions of sound and listening, closely integrated with multidisciplinary concepts of landscape and environment. LINDA WEIß creates immersive installations that examine the dynamics of shared spaces, engaging in dialogue with more-than-human collaborators such as fungi and bacteria. Together, they work on the ongoing project LOOKING FOR MEDUSA that invites audiences on a journey through past and future mythologies. Starting with Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the project weaves together references from cosmologies and ecosystems to create an experimental habitat for speculative future coral creatures. Their audio-visual installation was first exhibited at the Senckenberg Nature Museum in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 2023. Follow their research on tempe-corals.tumblr.com

concept/production: Nina M. W. Queissner