Atmospheres from Below

For decades, mercury released through the illegal gold mining in the Yanomami territory of the Amazon has moved invisibly through rivers, soil and bodies — its toxic effects unfolding quietly, beyond perception or accountability.

The project repurposes seismic sensing to trace this slow violence. Open-source seismic data and unsupervised machine learning is used to detect the low-frequency tremors produced by mining machinery, turning vibration into a material witness. These signals are sonified, triggering golden dust to fall from soil-filled containers. As it settles onto surfaces and clings to visitors’ shoes, the installation renders mercury’s quiet, cumulative harm visible and felt.

A visual interface connects seismic traces with sound and motion. The work unfolds slowly, rewarding lingering attention and return visits. By converting tools of extraction into instruments of resistance, the project challenges colonial modes of measurement and proposes a more-than-human way of sensing — one attuned to harm before it can be seen.