An Elegy For The Ocean
The Elegy of the Ocean is the first chapter of The Sonic Expedition (Chinese: 寻声大航海), an ongoing artistic and scientific research initiative founded by sound artist Xingyu Li through 52Hz Sound Cabinet and Whale Circus. Combining sailing expeditions, field recording, marine science, and sound art, the project explores the acoustic relationships between humans, marine ecosystems, and the changing environments of the world’s oceans.
Positioned at the intersection of sound art, marine ecology, and cultural research, The Sonic Expedition brings together artists, scientists, sailors, field recordists, and researchers to investigate marine environments through listening. Through self-navigated sailing journeys, the project documents underwater acoustic ecosystems, marine mammal vocalizations, environmental soundscapes, and the cultural narratives embedded within oceanic territories.
The Elegy of the Ocean documents the first voyage of this ongoing initiative, completed in January 2024 in the Beibu Gulf near Weizhou Island, China. During this expedition, the team collaborated with marine researchers to investigate the migratory habitat of Bryde’s whales while conducting underwater acoustic surveys and environmental recordings. According to the expedition’s acoustic analysis, a total of 734 whale-related sound signals were documented during the voyage, including both visually confirmed and acoustically detected encounters.
The materials collected during this expedition subsequently formed the basis of the immersive spatial audio work The Elegy of the Ocean — I Feel You (2024), which combines marine bioacoustic recordings, environmental soundscapes, and contemporary compositional practices to create an open auditory experience grounded in ecological listening.
As a long-term undertaking, The Sonic Expedition will continue to expand across additional maritime regions, including Southeast Asia, Polynesia, and Arctic waters, constructing a future-oriented archive of marine acoustic environments and sonic biodiversity.
By approaching sailing as both a methodology and a metaphor, the project seeks to establish alternative modes of attention and perception, using sound as a medium through which artistic imagination, scientific inquiry, and ecological awareness may intersect.