No sooner had Ming Wang completed her apocalyptic chamber work Das siebente Siegel (“The Seventh Seal”) than the global Coronavirus pandemic erupted. Individuals and families succumbed to panic: they began to hoard food and other items, to self-isolate within the apparent safety of their own four walls and wait for the catastrophe to end or even perhaps for a miracle. In the Old Testament book of Genesis we learn that Noah built an ark to save his family and every species of animal from the Flood. This biblical story resonated with Ming, inspiring her to build her own ark — in sound. She chose certain chords to act as the vessel’s scaffolding and then sought to depict, alternately, the massive waves outside the ark and the powerless, fearful humans and animals sheltering within.

 Music example (pdf)