Start Again the Lament

Cisternerne presents an extensive sound installation by artist Taryn Simon. Building everlasting recitations of loss, Start Again the Lament explores how we mourn individually and collectively, considering the anatomy of grief and who we choose to guide us through it.

In the act of lament, discontent is publicly performed. Professional mourners are granted the authority and solicited by the bereaved to occupy, negotiate, and shape their loss.

"In a relentless replay, the lamentations of professional mourners are broadcast into the reverberating space of Cisternerne. The space becomes an instrument echoing recitations of loss with a reverberation of 17 seconds. Simon describes: "I want to make you stop and pay attention to every step you take, your body, your heart rate, your temperature, the air you breathe, all the things that usually get lost in our ordinary doings and chores. You have to be there and free yourself."

— Weekendavisen

As sound and visiting bodies move through repeating archways, the installation merges darkness and light, absence and presence, singular loss, and its exponential multiplication. The public is pulled through Cisternerne by lamentations sonically pushing against its walls in cacophony and silence.

Taryn Simon (b. 1975) is a multidisciplinary artist working in photography, text, sculpture, and performance – often in combination. Through her artistic practice, Simon directs our gaze towards hidden or inaccessible systems, revealing underlying structures and how these influence our behavior.

Collaborating Artists

Ana Luisa Montiel Fernández, Marisol Rosalía Montiel Fernández, Kalash Tossouni Boudoyan, Aziz Tamoyan, Lala Ismayilova, Haji Rahila Jafarova, Patimat Alibekova, Zakhra Maldaeva, Zamfira Ludovica Mureşan, Mrike Nokaj, Hu Xinglian, Chen Jian, Afua Acheampomaah, Hanna Koduah, Aníbal González, Nota Kaltsouni, Vangelis Kotsos, Nikos Menoudakis, Busara Azimbaeva, Toktokan Chancharova.