Depth has become profound even as it has become increasingly superficial. The idea that the deep harbours the truth is an old one; surfaces have prevaricated since the Greeks, appearances deceive, and it is foolhardy to trust the eyes. (1)

SHORT DESCRIPTION
The 8th Sister is an art project that investigates the practical and contextual implications of creating an underwater sculpture in which its "true" form is manifested as an image on an ultrasound/echosounder display.

KEYWORDS
- New use of existing technology.
- Site specific sculpture in regional Norway.
- Investigates the dichotomies of real/virtual and depth/surface both metaphorically and literally.
- Local legend. Modern mythology.
- Simple and communicative concept.

TARGET AUDIENCE
Seafarers, fishers, local inhabitants, tourists.

LOCATION
Træna, on the coast of Helgeland (Nordland, Norway).
The sculpture will be anchored to the seabed, approx. 10 m under the water surface. It will be strategically placed in the path of an extensively used boat route in visual proximity of the mountain formation known as "The Seven Sisters".

TIME
Project development. Winter 2004/spring 2005.
We envisage that the sinking of the sculpture will take place in the summer of 2005 in connection with other cultural/art activities and festivals that take place in the region. Depending on the choice of material and economic factors, the sculpture will lie on the sea bed until it becomes physically eroded, or when must be moved/removed due to changes in the regulation of the specific coastal area. However, our aim for the sculpture is to achieve a "lifetime" of at least one year.

THE "VIRTUAL" OBJECT
When seen as an image on an ultrasound display the sculpture will be manifested as a naked women.

THE PHYSICAL OBJECT
In order to be perceived as a figurative object on an ultrasound display the sculpture must be constructed of appropriate materials so that it is rendered correctly. It is highly probable that the physical sculpture deviates considerably from its rendered manifestation and takes on abstract proportions.



Two illustrations to clarify the idea.
The figure below is a sketch of how we envisage the manifestation of the sculpture on the ultrasound display.


TECHNICAL ASSESSMENTS
We have already been in contact with engineers with hydro-acoustics as their special competence field (2). They agree that the projected is practically viable under the following conditions:

- The sculpture should lie between 10 and 30 metres deep (10 m is optimal), and lie above the seabed.
- The sculpture should be at least 10m long in order to be depicted clearly on the ultrasound display.
- Wire mesh (such as chicken wire) as surface structure will reflect ultrasound waves and draw a surface, while still allowing ultrasound waves to pass through.
- A material comparable to Isopor or cork will provide a medium reflection level which can draw the contours of the sculpture.
- The sculpture will only be seen as "correct" within a radius of approx. 30-40 m.
- The sculpture will be drawn differently on different ultrasound displays, and depending on the direction of the boat.

The engineers are willing to provide technical assistance in the various stages of project development.

THE SEVEN SISTERS
The legendry mountain chain "The Seven Sisters" has its own story. A tale of love, hate, envy and desire, of wild children and of the hard life the northerners of the coastal regions had to bear: (3)

North in Hålogaland sat two powerful kings: Vågakallen and Sulitjelmakongen, with Vestfjorden between them. Both had sorrows to bear: Vågakallen his disobedient son Hestmannen (the horse man), and Sulitjelmakongen his seven wild daughters, who he had sent to Landego near Bodø, where Lekamøyen lived.

One evening Hestmannen sees Lekamøyen and the seven sisters bathing naked in the sea at Landego. One single glance enflames his unfathomable desire for Lekamøyen, who he decides to steal away. On horse back in full amour, with waving feathers on his helmet and a cloak thrown over his shoulders, he hunts into his midnight ride. The virgins spot him, and flee in full haste until they can flee no further. The seven sisters give up their flight and throw themselves to the ground at Alstahaug. Only Lekamøyen continues her flight southwards, while the king in the Sømna mountains in Brønnøysund hunts the wild hunt.

The day draws near on golden clouds. The Sømna king sees the disappointed chaser set arrow to bow, and throws his hat at the arrow to save Lekamøyen.

Ten arrows fly from the bow at the very same moment, just piercing the hat which falls down at Torgar. In the very same instant the sun rises and everything turns to stone. That is how the tale goes. The tale of the seven sisters.



ARTISTIC EVALUATION
In practice ultrasound systems used for finding fish and nautical navigation work on the same principles as radar and ultrasound scans used to determine the health of a baby in pregnancy. Most people are familiar with these technologies. Ultrasound was developed just after the turn of the 20th century, and both radar and sonar experienced their breakthrough in WW1 when they were primarily used to find submarines. The technology was first used for medical purposes for locating and diagnosing cancerous growths in 1942. Apart from ultrasound images of fetuses, etc, very few artists have used ultrasound in artworks. We therefore consider this project as innovative on several levels.

"The 8th Sister" is, in principle, strongly related to the notion of synaesthesia as the image on the screen is created solely through soundwaves. It is equally viable to consider the sculpture as a form of "virtual graffiti" on the seabed - an intervention in the way experienced fishers interpret depth relations through graphic instruments.

A definition of the term "depth" sounds like this:

(4) Entry Word: depth

Function:
Noun 1. The perpendicular extent or measurement downward from a surface "measured the depth of the river" Synonyms deepness, drop Related Word profoundness, profundity; lowness; sounding; draft Contrasted Words shallowness; altitude, elevation
Noun 2. The quality of being profound (as in insight) or full (as of knowledge) "her answer showed she had great depth in that subject"

Synonyms:
Abyss, deepness, profoundness, profundity

Related Words:
sense, wisdom, wiseness; brain, intellect, intelligence; keenness, sharpness

Contrasted Words:
Shallowness, superficiality, unprofoundness; sciolism, smatter, smattering.

Depth can also be understood as a measurable size and in metaphysical terms - a mystical quality as something that culture aspires to, but which is very difficult to find. Technology for scanning the depth of atoms, oceans or "deep" space has throughout time developed in proportion to techniques for producing illusions of the "surface" of depth. Additionally, depth holds special meaning in the field of visual arts. When atom studies within modern medicine were conducted in the late renaissance artists such as Leonardo da Vinci began to explore techniques for creating depth in painting. At the same time as Sigmund Freud launched his theories and relationships between surface (conscious) and depth (subconscious), filmmakers started to try out techniques to create the illusion of depth/perspective in their brand new medium.

Most people today are familiar with 3D, and comprehend 3D as representations in a two-dimensional form (on a screen) in computer games and as animations on TV and in films. "The 8th Sister" poses questions with the general acceptance of this type of reality rendering in that the actual process transforms depth to surface - from 3D to a flat 2D. The manifestation of the naked woman on an ultrasound screen will possibly evoke deep (!) speculations of the sculpture's actual physical form, while offering a cheeky, humorous and mystic resonance of clumsy pin-up posters that once flavoured male dominated workplaces.

ECONOMY
The total budget for a basic functional version of the sculpture described above is estimated as being approx. 200.000 kr. With further financing a more perfectionised sculpture could be produced, both in artistic and technical terms. We hope that we can collaborate with Nordland Fylkeskommune to realise this project, as well as local resources (diving clubs, etc) in the municipality. As an attempt to capitalise on the project we also envisage the possibility of printing an exclusive edition of images based on printouts of the ultrasound display. Additionally, we wish to make a high quality documentation of the whole process in video format (DV) for later use.

ARTIST STATEMENT
"If you have to attend to the mere surface of the incident, the reality ... the reality I tell you, it fades." (5)


Oslo, 30.8.2004, Per Platou & Amanda Steggell



REFERANSER
(1) Judith Roof "Depth Technologies", p21 in "Technospaces - inside the new media" by Sally R. Munt (ed), Continuum 2001. ISBN 0-8264-5003-2.
(2) Hydroacoustic engineer, Kjell Almås and engineer Guttorm Tomren at Furuno Norge, dep. Ålesund.
(3) www.sagovegen.com/sagor.
(4) Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus www.webster.com
(5) Emilia Brecht, “Game Set Match”, theatre manuscript for Motherboard 2004.