Project Details

Skills Scholarly Research, Community Engagement, Custom Interactive Electronics + Programming (sensors, LEDs, Raspberry Pi), Custom 6.1 Surround Sound Soundscape, Soundproofing, Interactive Floor Projections, CAD Design, CNC Fabrication (wood + aluminum), Aluminum Welding, Carpentry

Industry Museums + the Arts

Location Louisville KY

Womb of Creation 🌀

Womb of Creation is an antechamber installation for COMMONWEALTH: DIVIDED WE FALL, a new permanent exhibition for the Frazier History Museum that opened summer 2022. Womb is an immersive installation that transitions visitors into the greater exhibition through simulating the sights and sounds of precolonial Kentucky, combining the flora and fauna, and Native American experience of Kentucky that existed for thousands of years in pre-colonial Kentucky.

The Frazier History Museum came to us with a request that we partner with them to research, imagine, design and build an experiential immersive installation - a portal to their new exhibition so to speak - that attempts to capture the perspective of Native Americans in precolonial Kentucky.

We identified and partnered with representatives of the three federally recognized tribes historically found in Kentucky - the Shawnee, Cherokee, and Chickasaw Nations - to develop content that was true to the experiences and histories of the tribes.

Special thanks to the tribal representatives, scholars, and native culture and language specialists that contributed to guiding this project from idea to installation, we and the people of Kentucky deeply appreciate your commitment telling the history of Kentucky accurately

LaDonna Brown, Historic Preservation Officer at Chickasaw Nation

Maggie Boyett, Director Of Communications, Shawnee Tribe

Choogie Kingfisher, Cultural Coordinator at United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians

A. Gwynn Henderson, Education Director, Kentucky Archaeological Survey, Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology, Western Kentucky University

Five unique pieces comprise the Womb of Creation museum installation:

The sculpture Tree of Life is the centerpiece of the installation. It stands as a reference to native tree symbols of life and the interconnectedness of the universe. The body of the tree is embedded with LEDs that gently pulse with energy and, when someone enters the exhibition space, the LEDs shift blue and sparkle with recognition.

A floor projection of a river populated with animals from Chickasaw, Shawnee, and Cherokee origin stories swim around the installation.

Encircling visitors within the exhibition space of this new exhibit, an immersive 6.1 channel soundscape we’ve named The Emergence of the World envelopes listeners in a 12min audio track that weaves together hundreds of sounds, from the primordial formation of the Earth to the evolution of species over many thousands of millennia. You can hear low frequency rumblings of earthquakes evolve into ultrasonic bat echolocation chirps and, nearing the end as human culture emerges, recordings of Chickasaw conversations and Cherokee song, these sounds move around the perimeter of the room to transport visitors into the center of an ongoing natural drama.

The Natural World Diorama creates a window into the world of Native American animal and plant species that were essential to sustenance and survival, from food and medicines to tools and instruments.

We collaborated with LaDonna Brown, Director, Research & Cultural Interpretation at Chickasaw Nation to develop and produce the animated Chickasaw Origin Story. A storybook style was used to bring to life the key components of the Chickasaw Nation’s origin story while a motion activated sensor triggers a voiceover that helps visitors understand the identities, priorities, and values of the Chickasaw people.

Chickasaw Origin Story

This installation feature is a two part feature, the CHICKASAW ORIGIN STORY ANIMATION and the CHICKASAW ORIGIN STORY VOICEOVER. LaDonna Brown, Historic Preservation Officer at the Chickasaw Nation was our Chickasaw Nation cultural coordinator between Infinity Production”s research and creative production - also, an essential collaborator on this feature.

Special Thanks to: Cherokee Nation member Choogie Kingfisher who voiced the script developed between LaDonna and project Art Director Daniel Dean, heard in the video here.

The Emergence of the World

A 6.1 surround sound system was design to deliver a 12 minute immersive soundscape that takes listeners through the elemental origins of the earth (earthquakes, lava, landslides) to thunderstorms and winds and rains to the emergence of life. Speakers placed in a circle around the installation allow wrap visitors in a soundscape filled with the sounds of local species of bats and insects woven together with bellowing elk that once frequently roamed the hills of Kentucky. One can hear the calls of whippoorwills, pileated woodpeckers, and common crows fly around the room as footsteps are heard circling the room, fire crackling, eventually voices emerge. Speaking in Native American languages of tribes historically residing in Kentucky (Shawneee, Chickasaw, Cherokee), these voices begin to talk, recite poetry, sing tribal songs, and play Native music.

Special Thanks to Maggie Boyett, a Shawnee artist and poet that allowed us integrate her Invocation Poem into the soundscape - you can hear her reading her poem in Shawnee in the latter part of the soundscape, representing one aspect of emerging creativity in human culture.

Audio engineering by Dave Givan.

Along the curved walls that enclose the river projection is the Mural of Security. These wall drawings are meant to provide an aesthetic connection between installation features while providing additional content specific to how First Americans lived. Many plants and animals were used for multiple purposes, from food to medicine to dyes for clothing and tools. The selected flora and fauna is listed below with accompanying, NOT exhaustive, links to additional contextual information generally related to First American’s use of these particular. Our research will be uploaded to the Frazier Museum’s a

Special thanks to artists Ehren Reed and Zander Harlan whose hand painting on black muslin brought these sketches to life.