The Core 

Khrystyna Kirik X Mark Bain
Sound and archisonic live performance

How the force of war is imprinted into the land. Using seismic data provided by scientist Alexander Liashchuk (Head of Department at the Main Centre of Special Monitoring State Space Agency of Ukraine) this work draws on recordings of missile strikes and explosions in regions such as Kharkiv and Kherson but also the ongoing state of the earth at the Poltava station, earthquakes in the Chernihiv and Poltava regions and the moment of the Kakhovka dam’s destruction. These traces are translated into vibration and sound — layering inaudible yet physically impactful low-frequency waves, sonic winds and frequency pools, dense drones, voice and high-frequency textures.

Mark works with the architecture of the building treating its structure as a resonating instrument, while Khrystyna uses her voice with a throat mic and audified seismic recordings to create a vibrasonic experience of being engulfed by the earth.

The performance unfolds as a journey descending from the surface into the depths of the ground. Each act or layer evokes not only geological shifts but also emotional ones — asking us to listen with our bodies to the imprints that infuse the soil. Sound resonates through walls through bodies, through memory. It explores how seismic traces of violence, of destruction, but also of the earth’s ongoing movements reverberate beyond what is seen or reported. How listening to them offers a way to reconnect with the soil beneath us.

This work is about destruction and survival. But rather than turning away from trauma it invites an honest confrontation — a shared space to witness, acknowledge and face what is often ignored or denied. It asks: what does the land feel — and can we learn to feel with it?