An Elegy For The Ocean

An Elegy For The Ocean is an ongoing oceanic sound expedition initiated by sound artist Xingyu Li (Whale Circus / 52Hz Sound Cabinet). Conceived as a long-term interdisciplinary initiative, the project brings together artists, scientists, recordists, sailors, and researchers to explore the acoustic dimensions of marine ecosystems through self-navigated sailing journeys.

Positioned at the intersection of sound art, marine ecology, and cultural research, the project focuses on documenting underwater acoustic environments, including vocalizations of whales and other marine species, alongside the ambient soundscapes of oceanic territories. These recordings serve both scientific observation and artistic creation, forming the foundation for music albums, exhibitions, performances, and audiovisual works.

The first voyage was successfully completed in January 2024 in the Beibu Gulf near Weizhou Island, where the team collaborated with marine researchers to document the migratory habitat of Bryde’s whales. According to the expedition’s acoustic review, a total of 734 whale-related sound signals were recorded during this initial journey, including both visually confirmed and acoustically detected encounters.

Material collected during this voyage has since been developed into the immersive spatial audio album

An Elegy For The Ocean — I Feel You (2024),

which integrates marine bioacoustic recordings with compositional practices to create an open auditory environment rooted in ecological listening.

As a continuous initiative, An Elegy For The Ocean will expand into additional maritime regions in the coming years, including Southeast Asia, Polynesia, and Arctic waters, extending its exploration of sonic biodiversity across global oceanic frontiers.

Through sailing as both method and metaphor, the project seeks to re-establish a slower, attentive relationship between humans and the ocean, using sound as a medium to bridge scientific inquiry and artistic imagination.