The Oracle. Courtesy mayfield brooks. Video still by Suzi Sadler.
Whale Fall II is a week-long series of encounters, including in-person, virtual, and streaming events, extending from mayfield brooks’ work at CPR as a 2021 Artist-in-Residence and Technical Resident.
Whale Fall is an evolving multi-disciplinary project arising from brooks’ practice, Improvising While Black (IWB). A “whale fall” describes the process of a whale’s decomposition after it dies and falls to the ocean floor, where it provides vital nutrients for deep sea creatures. Informed by decomposition, whale songs, echolocation, Herman Melville's Moby Dick, the Biblical story of Jonah and the Whale, and the sonic dissidence of Black grief, the work considers how grief can be processed and transformed.
Read an Artist’s Note from mayfield brooks.
ON VIEW AT CPR | June 12-13, 18-19
The Whale Fall installation features material provocations and a viewing of the full-length film, Whale Fall (2021), projected in CPR’s theater, and will be on view during the following times:
Sat, June 12 | 12:00 – 6:00 PM
Sun, June 13 | 12:00 – 6:00 PM
Fri, June 18 | 4:00 – 8:00 PM
Sat, June 19 | 12:00 – 4:00 PM
On Sat, June 12 and Sun, June 13, refreshments will be served by Jules Rencher next door at The 3rd Floor New York, where there will also be a knitting circle outside, weather permitting. Please feel free to bring your knitting.
On Sat, June 19 at 4:00 PM there will be a Juneteenth procession from CPR to Marsha P. Johnson State Park, weather permitting.
Masks and social distancing are required inside CPR, and capacity will be limited. CPR is a fully ADA-compliant and accessible venue located on the ground floor, with two gender-inclusive restrooms and one wheelchair-accessible restroom. For a map and directions to CPR, click here.
VIRTUAL | June 14–17
The Whale Fall Oracle Help Line (718) 349-1210 will be open to assist you with creating the right conditions for you to decompose any bullshit in your life during the following times:
Mon, June 14 | 8:00 – 10:00 PM
Tues, June 15 | 9:00 – 11:00 PM
Weds, June 16 | 9:00 – 11:00 PM
Thurs, June 17 | 9:00 – 11:00 PM
The Oracle can be reached at (718) 349-1210, and the Help Line will be broadcast on CPR’s Instagram Live @cprnyc. If the line is busy, call this number any time between June 12-19 for more information.
During these late-night sessions, the Oracle will inhabit the window of CPR's storefront gallery to take calls, inspired by storefront psychics and Puerto Rican astrologer, Walter Mercado.
STREAMING | June 12–20
The full-length film, Whale Fall (2021), which premiered in April 2021 at Abrons Arts Center will be available to stream on CPR’s website from Sat, June 12 at 12:00 PM through Sun, June 20 at 12:00 PM.
Whale Fall II was created in collaboration with Suzi Sadler, cinematographer; Violet Asmara Tafari, production manager; James Kogan, sound design; and Jules Rencher, performer.
Whale Fall II is organized by Alexandra Rosenberg, Executive Director with Remi Harris, Programs Manager and Ben Demarest, Production and Facilities Manager, and is presented by CPR as part of its Sunday Salon program, and supported by CPR’s Artist-in-Residence program and Technical Residency. Special thanks to Jonah Rosenberg for his penmanship.
Whale Fall was commissioned by the Abrons Arts Center through the Performance AIRspace Residency, which is supported by the Jerome Foundation.