Voice of Hiroshima Survivor Trees : Generative Voice Gem

Harry Yeff and Trung Bao

Artwork Description:

What you see here is a Voice Gem, it’s colour and form not generated from a human voice, but the voice of a very special tree. The clips and pops you hear are captured by Philip Clemo using a Hydrophone that captures the internal moving process of this being, exactly 75 years after the Hiroshima bomb was tragically detonated destroying all life. This tree was one of the first signs of life to re-emerge many years faster than expert predictions, overcoming the giant display of human destructive power that shook the world in 1945. Nature wins over all. The Voice Gems project continues to seek out and preserve precious, bold and vulnerable voices of Earth, and what is more precious than the many voices of nature. “Over 200 trees survived the catastrophic destruction of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs, including a Weeping Willow less than 400m from the Hiroshima blast epicentre. These trees became known as the Hibakujumoku, ‘Survivor Trees’. Many are still alive today and continue to be a symbol of overcoming adversity. What might a tree have to say at the exact time of the blast 75 years earlier. We were keen to find out and the sound recordings used for this gem came from that time in early August 2020, made with highly sensitive sensors and hydrophones attached to the trunks and branches.” Voice Gem #1137 created in partnership with Philip Clemo and Thomas Moors for the 1000 year Voice Gems Archive