Tracks by Tulle Ruth
Commissioned by platform BUNKER
7 April- 1 May 2022
Tracks is a collaboration between visual artist Tulle Ruth and throat Elfi Sverdrup. Together, they explored the crackling clicking sounds that reindeer produce with their hind legs when they move, that are a part of the flock’s communication.
At platform BUNKER, Ruth and Sverdrup presented in a dialogue between the reindeer and one of the oldest songs known. Here the audience could listen to a composition produced from the clicking sounds of the reindeer and the throat-singing of the Inuit. Through a non-verbal approach, Ruth and Svejdrup offer a suggestion on how animal and human communication can be understood. Sverdrup also performed live throat singing at the vernissage.
Tulle Ruth is born in Denmark but has lived in Norway for the past 20 years. Questions related to the clicking sounds of the reindeer’s started the project, and therefore Tulle Ruth has followed the reindeer in the South Sami for several years. SPOR is based on her field studies at the South Sami reindeer herding in Gråebrie Sijti near Røros in Norway. Norwegian Elfi Sverdrup has learned throat-singing from i.a. Inuit from Quebec. Throat-singing is a primordial force and requires intensive training to master the technique. Among the Inuit, throat-singing has been practiced among the women and has recently been practiced again in Quebec, Canada.
Credits
Concept and installation by Tulle Ruth
Performance by Elfi Sverdrup