“Aural Oral,” by Grace Denis at Museo Experimental el Eco as part of Feria Material, Mexico

Aural Oral explores a meal in the form of a sonic and performative moment in agricultural research, proposing a sensorial reflection of both processes of cultivation and consumption. The meal pairs an auditory archive of its ingredients with its ingestion; each accompanying track sketches a sonic cartography of the dish, amplifying the micro-actions of both the farm and the kitchen. Through the implementation of various types of microphones, Aural Oral renders a series of recordings of culinary and cultivation actions coupled with environmental sounds from the site of production, mixed into an immersive ambient sound installation. This edition of Aural Oral explores the foodscapes of the greater Mexico City vicinity, creating an abstracted mapping of the various food systems that supply the urban center. The soundscape included recordings from Yola Mezcal fermentation tubs, the construction of a soil bed in the chinampas of Xochimilco with Cocina Colaboratorio, and the juxtapositions of the fast whirring of cars on the highway next to Huerto Tlatelolco to that of the melodic bumbling of bees in the urban garden. This edition of the series took place at Museo Experimental el Eco as part of mmmmmaterial Art Fair.

Art and text by Grace Denis

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