Autoethnography - HAMAKAI

This work is an immersive sound installation that employs spatial audio technology. “Hamakai” refers to a form of vocal communication practiced by the Awa people—said to be the last nomadic hunter-gatherers in the Amazon—who mimic the calls of their prey while hunting in the forest. In recent years, the artist has traveled to the region multiple times to conduct fieldwork and record Hamakai. At the same time, the artist also recorded the sounds of illegal logging facing the Awa people, as well as the sounds of the railway laid in the vicinity to transport raw materials for steel production. This work captures the diverse sounds that coexist in the Awa people’s current living environment. Furthermore, this work is structured to offer an objective perspective on the artist herself as she conducts participant observation using a cultural anthropological approach. Throughout the piece, the focus is on a conversation between a father and his daughter in their living room—a reference to Gregory Bateson’s dialogic expression technique known as “metalogue.” The father joyfully shares the insights he gained during his fieldwork, while the daughter learns about this unknown world. At the end of the conversation, the daughter raises a fundamental question about the practice of participant observation itself. Preserving the cultures of others, conducting research using scientific methods, and addressing the pressing issue of environmental and cultural extinction… Through theatrical techniques, these multifaceted elements are expressed within the soundscape. Photo: TOMITA Ryohei Photo Courtesy: NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC]