The figure of the melanistic anuran emerges as an inhabitant of the zero zone: an entity
that does not survive despite transformation, but through it, in conditions of collapse.
Between an ecological perspective and the artist’s political and personal reflection, this
installation arises from the observation of a specific biological phenomenon: the
presence of populations of dark frogs in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. There, melanism,
the increased accumulation of dark pigment in the anuran species, appears as a
biological technology of resistance.
The work points to the possibility of imagining forms of existence in which difference
does not constitute an obstacle to the continuity of life, but rather one of its fundamental
conditions. In contrast to narratives that equate adaptation with assimilation, it proposes
that persistence may emerge precisely from what has historically been considered
peripheral, anomalous, or residual, reclaiming and honouring that which has been
denied and marginalised by violent and external systems of power.
The zero zone appears here not only as a reference to the territory of Chernobyl, but as
a broader condition: a point of reset where previous systems of organization cease to
operate. Far from representing destruction alone, it is understood as a space from which
new forms of life, perception, and identity can emerge. It is the place where continuity
breaks and, precisely for that reason, where other possibilities begin to become visible.
The installation consists of a ceramic sound sculpture and a sound composition. The
sculpture functions as a body situated within the space, inviting the viewer to hold it,
activate it, and participate in the piece through an intervention or ritual, offering a point
of resonance and presence. Sound, in turn, slowly unfolds a perceptual environment
that alters the relationship between time, attention, and listening.
The sound composition avoids any definitive resolution, manifesting as a sonic and
imaginary documentary. Change does not appear as an event but as a process. Using
the sounds from outside the booth as part of the composition, the piece proposes an
active listening and an expanded temporality in which small variations gradually gain
density and meaning.
Daiyen Jone is an interdisciplinary artist born in Cuba and based in Bergen. Her practice
moves between sound, ceramics, and performance, exploring presence, connection,
spirituality, mysticism, erotism, memory, and resonance. Working with improvisation and
embodied knowledge, her work draws from Afro-Cuban heritage and personal
experience. She has a professional and academic background in classical flute and jazz
performance, including studies at the Grieg Academy (University of Bergen), and
currently continues her artistic research through an MFA at the Faculty of Fine Art, Music
and Design (KMD), University of Bergen.
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