The Visitation
a sound walk

Inspired by the appearance of a one-antlered deer in Harlem in 2016, this site-specific sound walk is a meditation on the presence of the mythic in the everyday and the uneasy relationship between the built environment and the natural world. Created by Stephanie Fleischmann, Christina Campanella, and Mallory Catlett, The Visitation takes the listener on an urban odyssey in search of the collective memory of the deer’s sojourn in Jackie Robinson Park via geo-located avant-pop songs that conjure a series of encounters with the buck.

A soundscape threaded through with the ethereal voice of the deer traverses interior landscapes and terrain ranging from far-reaching urban vistas to a dense canopy of trees, from the former wilderness of the park to the blacktop of basketball courts and playgrounds. Mesingw, a Lenape spirit associated with the deer, who could, it was believed, reinstate balance to a disease-inflicted earth, once inhabited this place. Where is he now? How do we navigate his absence, and that of Artemis, Greek goddess of nature, from our contemporary lives? What are the repercussions of the ways we continue to colonize the land on which we live?

A visceral sonic journey through our longing for the solace of the wild, The Visitation charts the histories and hauntings of a particular urban geography, embedded within the geology of time.

While the creators of The Visitation consider the topography of Jackie Robinson Park to be their fourth collaborator, and while the piece has been designed to be experienced in the context of the park, the walk can also be accessed remotely, offering a rich sonic experience to listeners the world over.

Supported, in part, by Café Royal Cultural Foundation and Foundation for Contemporary Arts.