A YEAR WITHOUT SUMMER

2021

Sound installation, 4x felted rugs
Voice by Raluca Croitoru, Pilar Mata Dupont, Tracy Hanna
Composer Janne Kosmos

A Year Without A Summer explores waiting, perception, and uncertainty through a sound installation combined with hand-made felted rugs. Inspired by the year 1816 – known as “The Year Without a Summer,” when the eruption of Mount Tambora caused global climatic disruption, the work reflects on the social and emotional impacts of waiting under conditions of uncertainty.

The installation features four confessions voiced by different characters, each navigating states of hope, powerlessness, and anticipation. These narratives are written as scripts inspired by a range of texts, articles, personal experiences, fables, and conversations with ten art and cultural workers about waiting. Together, they examine how waiting shapes lived experience and relationships.

The confessions are the result of voice recordings with Raluca Croitoru, Pilar Mata Dupont, and Tracy Hanna, alongside soundscapes made by Janne Piksen. The hand-made felted rugs contain different texts inspired by each confession.

A Year Without A Summer is the second episode of the project What Happens If We Wait Together? (2020-2023)

Documentation by Marta Hryniuk and Sophie Bates
Special thanks to Marta Hryniuk, Sophie Bates and WET

Made possible by a financial contribution from CBK Rotterdam and Droom en Daad