The Stinky Singer

2015 | Taxidermy skunk, neon, wood, sound | Variable dimensions
Performer: Mounzer Baalbaki

This sonic sculpture is an allegory about the life of pop stars who briefly had their moment in the lime light, but have had their star fade and disappear long ago. Once free spirits, these now lone singers never managed to figure out the ropes of staying successful in the music industry, but they each hold a special story, always unique from one another. Surrogated by a mummified trophy animal, the animal sings an Arabic Mawwal (lamentation) song about his former shining self, with a coarse exhausted voice reflecting his current miserable status. The song can be seen as a mixture of sonic poetry and contemporary vocal performance. Stinky Singer is the first of a series that explores the variations of how this faded pop star character functions, where several vocal performers participate as sonic collaborators in the project.

Photos by Nils Volkmann and Chris Saunders