Passage is a journey through our ancient past and possible future. The piece was prompted by environmental concerns and was created after a residency in Tanzania in 2016.
In central Tanzania, we were introduced to the ancient rock art of Kondoa, a UNESCO World Heritage site created by the ancestors of the Sandawe people. The rock art was carefully documented by archaeologist Mary Leakey in the 1950s. Studying her tracings, together with seeing some of the works in the field, provided a point of departure for this piece. The majority of the sonic elements were derived from field recordings made in Tanzania, including recordings made on the gong rocks at the Moru Kopjes in the Serengeti.
In the twenty-first century, our future is threatened by destructive forces of willful corporate greed imperiling humans, other species, and the planet. Passage contains an environmental message: although we live in an entirely different reality, we can reconnect to the consciousness of pre-agricultural ancestors and recognize the interdependent nature of existence to model a hopeful future for our world.
