Incantation for restoring democracy (for when the people's voice has been silenced by concrete and steel).

This piece reflects a journey from witnessing US events and feeling powerless to taking creative action.

As an independent audio producer living in Sardinia (Italy), I could not make sense of my desperation while witnessing ICE violence in Minneapolis. I was horrified, so I decided to channel my energy into creating an incantation, using my skills to feel less powerless.

This piece aims to be cathartic resistance and magical defiance against oppression. I used the only weapon that I have, my creativity, as a tool to denounce horrific realities and, hopefully, inspire other creators to use art for activism to contribute to change.

Read, share, and speak it aloud.

Please note: The protest sound at the end has been recorded in Minneapolis, used courtesy of stevevader101 -- https://freesound.org/s/841767/ -- License: Attribution 4.0 

What is Art, in all the wrong places?

Characters who can't always be trusted. Because they often don't see the difference between sound and noise, between countryside and abandoned building, between fiction and reality.
I explore sound, speak languages and talk to strangers. This is my work.
AIR Member. www.cristinamarras.com

Incantation for restoring democracy,

for when the people's voice has been silenced

by concrete
and steel.

INGREDIENTS:

Three pieces of glass from a broken window

from the Third Precinct

[as evidence of broken trust

between people and power].

One voter registration form

destroyed because the address was incorrect

[for proof of systematic voter suppression].

A piece of concrete saved
from BLM Plaza

[for authenticity of ground zero resistance].

Three bullet casings collected at the intersection

of East 34th Street and Portland Avenue

in south Minneapolis

[for tangible evidence of federal bullets

that silenced a mother's voice].

The stethoscope that an ICU nurse

used to care for veterans

[to capture democracy's final breath].

A chant whispered in German, Italian,

and Sardinian, muttered in despair

[for international solidarity
with the fight].

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.
Stand tall
and proud

with your feet planted on the concrete,

preferably in defiance.

2.
Place all ingredients on the nearest barricade,

in front of you but just
out
of reach,

so that it is difficult to grab them

without stretching the system.

3.
Raise your fist
in salute

and recite the incantation

with a sense of gravity

and revolutionary contempt.

"By barricades deep and wide

democracy we shall revive.

Destroy the lies restore the rule

join hands with us renounce the fool.

No more darkness no more shame,

justice and humanity shall prevail."

To encourage democracy
to come back

you can create following sound effects:

RATTLE: scrape the broken glass on the concrete

to simulate the voices that have been taken away.

DISTORT: crumple the voter form next to your ear

to simulate the muffling of the people's will.

AMPLIFY: cup your hands around your mouth while speaking

to simulate the sound of someone calling for help

while being
shot
by federal officers.

Now, collect all the ingredients
in a small, desperate pile

and let them marinate in your frustration

for at least
one hour,

during which you will check again all the back channels,

secret meetings and encrypted messages.

Finally, add one last sound effect:

the hollow sound of immoral politicians

who have been enabling the rambling
of a sick mind,

followed by a sigh

that gradually fades

to the sound of democracy that refuses to die.