This project is a portable voice activated, vibrational, instrument (in a red wagon) that allows one to commune with worms. I pulled the wagon to different locations in Thompkins Square Park as part of the Conflux Festival, inviting one and all to use their voice, to talk, hum, sing, or in some way to coax and charm the subterranean inhabitants of the city, to rise to the surface.
We have much in common with the earthworm. Worms respond to vibration, such as the patter of rain or the pecking of the birds on the earth. Humans also communicate with vibration, via the vibrating folds of the larynx and the vibration of sound transmitted through the air. Most of the city’s earth is compressed due to architecture and construction, but at certain areas such as parks, cracks in the pavement, under rocks and patches around trees, there is good chance that worms may be present and “listening”.
Instructional Card for Sonic Worm Wagon