I was one of those kids fascinated by monsters, intestines and violent death so the discovery that sharks were real developed, fortunately, into a fascination for the underwater world. The cartoon mermaid Marina and Jacques Cousteau’s handsome son Philippe no doubt helped so almost twenty years after acquiring a Zoology degree, learning to dive in Scottish and Irish waters with a practice growing in the making of increasingly architectural compositions to feel rather than just listen to,  a residency on the Galapagos Islands to make music from the presence and absence of sharks was more than just a dream come true.

 

PART 1.  A week underwater

16th April 2009.   Kaffe  goes to  join the Aggressor II dive boat at San Cristobal, Galapagos for a week’s diving in the archipelago. Trip will include 3 days at the most Northern islands Wolf and Darwin where the hammerhead sharks are many. Equipment includes underwater video camera, silica gel, 2 x hydrophones and digital field recorder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L-R:  Chris Steritt, Cédric Villiere, Pascal Mercier, Manuel, Naomi Luck, Ruth Derkenne, Paul Little.
photo Richard Vera

 

 

PART 2 . Two weeks on Santa Cruz.

25th April. 2009.  Kaffe is back on dry land at Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Galápagos to take up residence at Casa 11 in The Fundación Charles Darwin Centre (AISBL).  Her human neighbours are two Swedish seal scientists and a red ant expert from Texas.  Her purpose, to explore and understand the land that is Galapagos, with special interest in the people that know the ocean and the life within it.  She will be here for two weeks. Enabled by local artist and fixer Elke Hartman, a salt plane visit, meetings and expeditions with fishermen and scuba clubs are already in place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART 3. Isabela island.

May 7th 2009. Kaffe and Elke take the ferry from Santa Cruz to Puerta Villamil, Isla Isabela, for music making experiments with children at the new municipal school. Enabled by Daniel Rivas of the Charles Darwin Foundation with support of the principal, Angel Gunsha,  Kaffe will be exploring her shark inspired findings with them to make pieces.  The school has no computers, internet, audio or stereo equipment and there will be a group of ten eleven year olds from 8-11am each day. The children have lessons from 12 to 6pm and yes, Saturday afternoon 2 – 6pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Daniel Rivas.