12/14 Oysters + Happy New Year

In western Ireland, where my family is originally from, oysters are a treat in the winter season. When poor dairy farmers had little money they could still cook a Christmas dinner of Ling (a dried fish) or oysters, which could be gathered from the shoreline. Aside from affordable seafood, they also had plenty of milk from their cows fed on their fields – and thus we have traditional oyster stew: milk, oysters, potatoes, herbs. Simple and made from necessity + a strong sense of place. Good Oystering, Merry Christmas, and Happy Solstice!
– Chris

on the piece:
Consider the Oyster is a document of place, culture, and a window into oyster farming in West Marin. It is based off of three basic facts:
1. Oysters reflect the place in which they are made. This recording documents the process of farming oysters with field recordings and two channel video.
2. Oysters are equally, a grounded and celestial food: flavored by the tides, created by the rotation of the sun and moon. They put us in touch with our own position in relation to movement of our planet. Two drones are sounded to represent the sun and the moon, proportional to their gravitational pull on the tidal waters.
3. Oysters are bivalves, and so is a pump organ. I performed on pump organ throughout the piece as a musical analogue for our beloved oyster.

The Event:
In May of 2014, participants arrived to Headlands Center for the Arts for a circuit of edible experiences including a sonic investigation into the process of oyster cultivation, synchronized group shucking, and considered consumption of our favored bivalve. Culminating with a meal of oyster stew in the Mess Hall, participants should come with hungry minds and bellies and can expect to be wholly satiated.