Rachael Dease
composer • sound designer • vocalist
PICA RESIDENCY
Starmapping, Music Boxes, Astrophysics & Human Ritual
Coming out of "From A Small Distant World" in February, I went straight into a residency at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts to explore new ways of scoring music from celestial maps. Around a month into the research I started focussing on how this data from NASA and the ESA could be used in a less direct, but more emotional way. Through having an open studio, I began discussing with friends and strangers alike how looking upwards and outwards can help those dealing with grief and loss. We talked about how scientific faith was replacing religious ritual in an increasingly aetheist western society, and how our need for order and understanding, and for community ritual was something lacking in this brave, new world.