In the context of the Naga Project, an archaeological excavation of the State Museum of Egyptian Art in Munich, usomo acoustically brings an ancient royal city in the desert of Sudan to the present.
usomo developed the spatial sound concept (in cooperation with the composer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Polscher) and the spatial sound production for the exhibition of the Naga Project, an archaeological excavation project in Sudan of the State Museum of Egyptian Art in Munich. The exhibition designer Die Werft had the creative lead.
Naga is a temple city of the ancient empire of Meroe (350 BC to 350 AD) in today’s Sudan. It is considered one of the most complex archaeological sites of that era. As a secondary residence of the kings and queens of Meroe, Naga was the African gateway to Egypt, Greece and Rome. Naga being an early cultural bridge between Africa and the Mediterranean justifies the immense scientific effort and its listing as UNESCO World Heritage. Several temples, dozens of buildings and hundreds of graves are in the process of being excavated, most in very good condition, well preserved in the sand.
The exhibition “Naga – Die verschüttete Königsstadt” makes use of the spatial sound system usomo in order to allow visitors to immerse themselves into the world of Naga through sound while wandering among panoramic images. Narrative and educative voice-overs are supplemented by sounds of the natural environment and of the technical works. The visitors are free to explore the exhibition at their own pace and guidance, thanks to the interactivity of the headphone-based sound system usomo.
Because of the armed conflict in Sudan, the Naga Project is temporarily interrupted. This exhibition shows the current state of the Naga Project which is set to continue on-site as soon as possible.
Credits
Website
smaek.de
Client
State Museum of Egyptian Art / Naga Project, Munich
Curation
Dr. Arnulf Schlüter and Christian Perzlmeier, M.A.
Creative Lead
DIE WERFT Raißle & Sieber PartG mbB: Christian Raißle and Franziska Edelmann
Sound system, spatial sound concept, spatial sound production
usomo by FRAMED immersive projects
Sound and music production
Mark Polscher
Texts
Alexandra von Poschinger
Duration
12 May to 22 October 2023
Photos
1 © Roy Hessing, State Museum of Egyptian Art
2–5 © FRAMED immersive projects
6–7 © State Museum of Egyptian Art
