Sculpted Voices
'Once this night
Through where world caught
A crimson caught feel
Like once working is wandering, moving'
-- words submitted by anonymous individuals
We acknowledge this work was created on the lands of the Wurundjeri-willam clan ('white gum tree dwellers') of the Woiwurrung speaking people, who are its continuing custodians. As we listen to stories drawn to the Nillumbik Shire ('Nillumbik' meaning 'shallow earth'), we acknowledge the stories of First Nations people which have been shared on these lands for thousands of years. We acknowledge the Elders past and present, as well as the future leaders of these lands and on this continent.
released June 24, 2022
Sculpted Voices is a sound artwork by multidisciplinary artist Aiv Puglielli, based in Eltham (Nillumbik Shire), Victoria, Australia.
Sound has always informed and carried his practice as a storyteller. He approaches the generation of sound and music more broadly from the lens of the human voice, as a connection to sense memory and personal humanity - he describes remembering the way an idea or event has affected him often by a recollection of how it felt in his throat or chest. He envelopes pockets of local environments and lived experiences as source material in creative projects.
In 2022, Aiv was commissioned to create a sound artwork by Nillumbik Shire Council as part of their Artist in Own Residence program.
A community-responsive piece, online posts invited individuals to submit short voice recordings to form a long-form sonic experience. The resulting work sculpts and tempers voices as if they were paint or clay, each individual submission recounting stories of the COVID era and observations of the spaces in which we inhabit.
