Lullaby For Depressed River Mussels

A speculative sound installation grounded in field research

Origins
The project grew out of a study of water conditions in De Biesbosch National Park, focusing on the impact of noise pollution and continuous canal regulation on freshwater mussels. Recordings of natural sounds and human-made noise were interwoven with a folk song.

Listening
The installation frames these sounds as a poetic concert for freshwater mussels. Although mussels cannot hear, they sense vibrations and water movement. Even if we listen from a human perspective, the work invites us to engage with their fragile world and imagine new ways of connecting with this endangered species.

Sensory system

The installation combines hydrophone recordings of ferry traffic and the crackling of crushed shells with a sung folk lullaby, shaping an immersive, ASMR-inspired soundscape. This composition is played through waterproof speakers housed in 3D-printed shell-like forms, made of biodegradable filament enriched with mussel shell powder.

Visitors can activate the sounds themselves, turning the installation into a concert for mussels. Through silicone buttons cast from real shells, they trigger subtle acoustic shifts and add their own presence to the piece. A hydrophone placed in the water lets them listen back to these sounds as they are transmitted through the submerged speaker, wrapped in the 3D-printed mussel structure. This listening loop emphasizes the entangled experience of sound, touch, and submerged life.