siren(E)s
2008-2010
Last winter, I heard a woman’s scream pierce the cold, dry air of the city. It paralyzed me and I immediately turned to my taxi driver to ask if he, too, had heard it. It was an ambulance leaving Saint Vincent’s Hospital.
SIREN(E)S - BY SUBSTITUTING AN UNEXPECTED WOMAN’S VOICE IN PLACE OF A SIREN, AN ALARMING PRIMAL SOUND IS IMMEDIATELY HUMANIZED, BRINGING A NEW SENSE OF AWARENESS TO WHAT IS OTHERWISE AN ALL TOO COMMON AND TYPICALLY DISTURBING EXPERIENCE. IN DOING SO, A DISTINCT EVENT TOUCHES THE SOUL, AWAKENING DEEPLY OUR EMOTIONS ALERTING OUR INSTINCT BEYOND FEAR.
In 2010, as I continue developing the piece, I searched for an image to personify the ultimate primal alarming sound by a woman. I came across an incredibly strong image of the singer Amy Winehouse performing. Tragically, Amy Winehouse passed away in the following year. Her expression was so profoundly human—I have yet to see anything comparable.
Terracotta Siren from Greece, 300 BCE, shows the creatures in their original, bird-woman form. Photography: Peter Horree/Alamy