“Chundua – Frog Dreams”: Sound installation in Bonn opened
©Robin Minard
Immerse yourself in a dream world with the singing of frogs: From now until 4 December 2022, the sound installation “Chundua – Frog Dreams” by Bonn-based urban sound artist Robin Minard can be seen and, in particular, heard at the Museum Koenig Bonn. The sound art exhibition presents acoustic dream sequences of the Colombian rainforest – especially the variety of sounds and the singing of the frogs. It is a project of “echoes – soundforum bonn” of the Beethoven Foundation.
Robin Minard recorded many hours of audio material of the sounds and noises of the rainforest – especially of the frogs – on a biological research expedition in northern Colombia: “The acoustic richness and musicality of the frogs are fascinating,” says the Bonn urban sound artist. From the recordings and inspired by the stories of the Arhuaco, an indigenous people in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Columbia, Minard created the sound installation for the lecture room.
For the Arhuaco, the Chundua, a mountainous region of the Sierra Nevada, is the heart of the world. According to their tradition, life, wisdom and law originate here. They believe that all people need Chundua. In the same way, however, Chundua needs people and their responsible treatment of the environment in order to preserve the balance on earth.
“The sound art exhibition aims to bring visitors closer to the indigenous people’s spiritual view of nature and therefore invite them to dream,” explains Dr Thomas Gerken, head of the exhibition department at Museum Koenig Bonn. “The project can contribute to finding a different approach to biodiversity and its protection, one that is not driven by knowledge alone,” adds Carsten Seiffarth, curator and project manager.
The sound installation is part of “echoes – soundforum bonn” of the Beethoven Foundation for Art and Culture of the Federal City of Bonn, which combines artistic and scientific research. For this year’s annual theme of biodiversity, Robin Minard worked closely with the Herpetology Research Section, in particular with its head Dr. Claudia Koch, at the Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change (LIB), Museum Koenig Bonn.
Further information on the exhibition and the project can be found here:
www.bonn.leibniz-lib.de/de/museum/sonderausstellungen/chundua-froschtraeume
