Those that do not smile will kill me’ by Jessica Ashman (2025)
‘All power emanates from the land’ - a 5 channel exhibition soundscape (31mins 57s)
‘All power emanates from the land’ is a 5 channel soundscape for Jessica Ashman’s exhibition ‘Those that do not smile will kill me’, at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery; the result of her research within the biology collections of the museum. The title comes from an Akan proverb:
Tumi nyina ne asase = All power emanates from Land / Asase Ye Duru = The Land has weight
Through research, reimagining, song, drone, noise, rhythm, field recordings and sound design, we composed a score to an alternative universe in which three imagined characters (Afiba, Datura and Juba) are portals for how Indigenous and African-Jamaicans used plants to resist their enslavement: from food sovereignty to spiritual connection and rebellion. Embedded within the soundscape is a song cycle dedicated to some of the plants that would have been central to their lives - offering an imagining otherwise to the trauma and violence of the botanical colonialism within the archives.
More from her about the whole project HERE
Soundscape Credits
Written and composed by Jessica Ashman and Auclair
Produced by Jessica Ashman, Auclair and Kyle Acab
Recorded, mixed, mastered by Kyle Acab
Vocals, guitar, samples by Jessica Ashman
Vocals, drums, percussion, programming, sound design by Auclair Samples: thanks to the following for audio samples - Yewande Odunubi (Forest at Dawn and Dusk - Portland, Jamaica) and SOHO/MDI - solar sonification (ESA & NASA).