Saturate (2025)

Saturate, created by Sara Retallick, is a large-scale underwater sound installation presented in a public pool. The work features an electroacoustic composition presented underwater using specialised submerged amplification technologies. 

The primary motivation behind this work is to provide audiences with a unique sound experience that encourages engagement with the ritual of communal bathing, fosters active listening, and invites a physical interaction with sound.

Listening Underwater:

This artwork uses a distinct presentation modality that diverges from sonic installations using conventional air-dependent speaker arrays by employing water as the medium of sonic transmission.

This distinctive hydroacoustic environment significantly affects how sound is diffused and perceived, with bone conduction hearing activating as sonic vibrations are transmitted via the skull and jaw bones into the inner ear.

The result is a tangible encounter with sound that feels like it originates very close to, or inside, the listener’s head. The submerged audience perceives an omnipresence of sound, delivering a densely immersive encounter.

Sound Composition: 

The sound composition was created for this submerged acoustic environment, and takes into consideration both the physical sensation of underwater listening and the sonic characteristics of the underwater speakers. 

The instrumentation plays with the acoustic impossibility of presenting air-reliant instruments underwater, using recorded voice and wind instruments alongside electronics to create a composition that unfolds over the session.

Creative Team:

Sara Retallick - Artist 

Role: concept development, sound composition, sound system design and construction.

Samuel Karmel - Installation technician 

 Role: installation design assistance, construction and building, and audio technical. 

Dual Flow - Lighting design www.dualflow.net/ 

Recent presentations: 

RISING Festival - Melbourne City Baths, June 2025

Shepparton Arts Festival - Aquamoves, April 2025 

Brunswick Music Festival - Brunswick Baths, March 2025