Listening Through the Dead Zones is a sound installation in which the audience can listen to different species of mammals, including humans, and to various species of fish and crustacea that live in the ocean.

The installation was originally commissioned by IHME, Helsinki. It first took place in August 2021 in a rowing stadium in Töölö, Helsinki, and was created in collaboration with Tony Myatt. The title refers to the dead zones in oceans and lakes—areas of low-oxygen water— which have spread to all the seas on our planet. Eutrophication leads to hypoxic conditions, and hardly anything can survive there.

Beneath the surface of the sea is one of the richest sound environments on our planet. Winderen’s composition gives us a chance to listen to the sounds of aquatic animals from habitats that are still viable. She has recorded the sounds made by various species of fish, crustacea and mammals over the last 16 years, from the Arctic to the tropic Oceans.

Winderen has been concerned with how we coexist with other life forms since she was a child. She hopes that in the future everyone will know what mammals, fish or crustacea sound like underwater, and that noise pollution from humans interferes with their communication and abilities to hunt, orientate and survive.

Commissioned by IHME Helsinki, funded by Pro Arte Foundation, Kone Foundation and Saastamoinen Foundation as a part of their participation in World Weather Network.