Ocean Refuses No River

2026
Audiovisual installation

Materials: Field recordings, electronic sound, moving image

Ocean Refuses No River traces a descent from river to ocean and through its progressively deeper zones. The title draws on a Sufi mantra that uses the ocean as a metaphor for acceptance.

Field recordings of water merge with synthesised drones that descend in register as the imagined depth increases. In the moving image, human figures gradually lose their definition and dissolve into particles, shifting between recognisable bodies and the surrounding environment. Sound and moving image play as independent loops, continually shifting in and out of sync.

00:00

19:50 loop
Stereo

7:48 loop
Single-channel HD projection

Exhibition

Ocean Refuses No River was exhibited as part of the group exhibition Between the Gulf of Blank and the Bermuda Triangle, curated by Maansi Jain and Kaichen Li.

gr_und, Berlin
8–28 March 2026

Between Gulf of Blank and the Bermuda Triangle – grund – berlin, germany, march 8 2026 (c) maansi jain-0487 1

Between Gulf of Blank and the Bermuda Triangle – grund – berlin, germany, march 8 2026 (c) maansi jain-0489 1

Between Gulf of Blank and the Bermuda Triangle – grund – berlin, germany, march 8 2026 (c) maansi jain-0482 1

Photographs by Maansi Jain, Kaichen Li, and Kajona

Release

Alongside the audiovisual installation, Ocean Refuses No River exists as two related musical compositions, Ocean and River, released on Iyagi in 2025.

View on Bandcamp →