The opera of prehistoric creatures

The opera of prehistoric creatures is an opera which stages the rebirth of prehistoric creatures. The artist Marguerite Humeau attempted to resuscitate the sound of these creatures by reconstructing their vocal tract and based an opera on their voice. Reconstructing is problematic from a scientific point of view: since the vocal tract is made of soft tissue, it does not fossilize. The only things that have been preserved through time are the surrounding bones, thus the inner parts have to be redesigned. For over a year Humeau has been discussing with paleontologists, zoologists, radiologists and other scientists to overcome the difficulties of creating a work from non-existing, inaccessible, or lost data. Advice from experts as well as predictions were used to craft the roars of a Mammoth Imperator (-4,5 mya), an Entelodont aka Terminator Pig (-25 mya), and an Ambulocetus ‘Walking whale’ (-50 mya).

Marguerite Humeau uses design to explore the means by which knowledge is generated in the absence of evidence. Humeau weaves factual events into speculative narratives, therefore enabling the unknown to erupt in grandiose splendour. Humeau’s work is part of the NY MoMA permanent collection.