This interactive sound sculpture is a commemorative nature souvenir. Like a trophy deer head, it functions as both a remembrance of a nature experience and a displayed prize. Just as the deer head is full of plaster and glass eyes, this waterfall contains no water. Instead, the sounds of waterfalls refer to the experience of being there. The viewers of this trophy create their own version of a waterfall experience by playing the five separate touch-activated water sounds. Giving a participant “control” of their own idealized waterfall experience does not change the fact that the experience is trivial compared to that of being at an actual waterfall – though I do wonder how stand-in nature experiences change our subsequent perceptions of the thing represented.

(This sculpture was stolen from Hopkins Hall Gallery in Columbus, Ohio in 2000. Let me know if you see it anywhere.)

trophy waterfall

  • Trophy Waterfall 1998
  • Dimensions 48" x 28" x 4"
  • Medium Cast bronze, speakers, digital sound chips and wood.
  • Exhibited EGG GALLERY, Chicago, IL • Hopkins Hall Gallery, Columbus, OH