Our appreciation for sound and underwater environments led us to take a closer look at Drexciya, an electronic music duo from Detroit active during the 1990s, particularly at the afrofuturistic nautical myth they developed in their album ‘The Quest’:
“During the greatest holocaust the world has ever known, pregnant America-bound African slaves were thrown overboard by the thousands during labour for being sick and disruptive cargo. Is it possible that they could have given birth at sea to babies that never needed air? (…)
Are Drexciyans water breathing, aquatically mutated descendants of those unfortunate victims of human greed? (…)
Do they walk among us? Are they more advanced than us and why do they make their strange music?
What is their Quest?”
with Diogo da Cruz
Our joint practice began through a shared interest in water as both a material and metaphorical medium. For us, water embodies memory and connectivity, it carries the voices of those erased by colonial history and links diasporic experiences across continents.
Since 2020, we have built a shared language that merges Fallon’s sound-based and performative methods with Diogo’s sculptural and narrative approaches, we have worked together to create a long-term science fiction narrative developed through residencies, workshops, and collaborations in Brazil, France, Portugal and Greece. We believe that collaboration is not only about co-authorship, but about creating a space for transformation, a porous process that allows identities, disciplines and narratives to shift.
Our work emerges from exchange, improvisation and deep listening, we have developed a methodology of speculative myth making, where fiction becomes a tool to question dominant histories and imagine new forms of coexistence. Rooted in Afrofuturist and hydrofeminist thought, the project imagines underwater communities descended from those lost in the transatlantic slave trade, who survive in symbiosis with marine ecologies. This narrative allows us to connect ecological collapse with histories of displacement, foregrounding diasporic resilience while resisting colonial logics of extraction and domination.
Although “scientific progress” has made major areas of planet Earth graspable to humankind, parts of our planet still remain entirely mysterious and unknown. The environment of the deep-sea in particular, likely where life on Earth has its origins, is yet an uncharted territory hosting uncanny life forms. These endless bodies of water, we believe, are pertinent places for the construction of contemporary myths – they are projection surfaces for imagination and socio-political criticism, opaque spaces of speculation and remembrance.
The project AXECIDYR (an anagram of Drexciya) is a reformulation, an answer or a possible continuation of the underwater Drexciyan myth. It narrates the encounter of humans with the mutant civilisation, descendants of enslaved people, during an operation of extraction of ores and minerals in the deep-sea. Referring to nautical tales and legends, this story will reflect on the ecological impact of humans on the sea and their physical invasion of waters – where life once began and where it often ends. Holding onto concepts introduced by Astrida Neimanis, the project proposes to open questions around the ocean as decentralised memory, the human body holding and sustaining water, and the hydro-commons as a drift into new ways of ‘caring’.
The project AXECIDYR (an anagram of Drexciya) is a reformulation, an answer or a possible continuation of the underwater Drexciyan myth. It narrates the encounter of humans with the mutant civilisation, descendants of enslaved people, during an operation of extraction of ores and minerals in the deep-sea. Referring to nautical tales and legends, this story will reflect on the ecological impact of humans on the sea and their physical invasion of waters – where life once began and where it often ends. Holding onto concepts introduced by Astrida Neimanis, the project proposes to open questions around the ocean as decentralised memory, the human body holding and sustaining water, and the hydro-commons as a drift into new ways of ‘caring’.
HYDROPHILIC BOUNDS, 2021
‘Hydrophilic Bounds’ is a film that marks the beginning of the AXECIDYR project, a collaboration between Diogo da Cruz and Fallon Mayanja, and is imagined as the first chapter of a longer, more complex science-fiction narrative.
Fallon’s soundscape has set the rhythm and acoustic quality for this underwater world, while the multiplicity of narratives and visual references brought by Diogo emerge in distinct layers, within a narrative developed from our dialogue.
An unknown underwater civilisation is limiting the quantity of oxygen produced by the sea, killing over 300 million people after four years of the Deep Sea War. Dr Nadia Eckel, a marine biologist adviser to the mining company IHC, has previously confessed that she accepted a bribe to publish a scientific report, crucial to the approval of the first major extraction project. As the suspect’s confession is not sufficient for proceeding with the case, with no other clues to the bribery, inspector Diana Redstone has been looking for further proves of involvement. While the interrogation unfolds Aidan is waiting to deliver a speech at a global summit, which has been organised to halt the conflict.
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Hydrophilic Bounds, 2021, loop 4K video, colour and sound 32 min
by Diogo da Cruy and Fallon Mayanja
starring Florine Zegers and Lea Vajda
colour correction by Afonso Mota
including footage from:
-Lost City 2018 Expedition, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution - lostcity.biology.utah.edu -Visualizing Deep-sea Mining, 2019 video from MIT Mechanical Engineering
-NEPTUNE Maintenance, September 2020 Ocean Networks Canada - SeaTube Pro
Excerpt of 3 minutes:
player.vimeo.com/video/616869094
LOOKING UP FROM UNDERNEATH, 2021
(Diogo da Cruz)
The first group of sculptures by Diogo da Cruz related to the project were presented in “looking up from underneath” at Forum Arte Braga, Portugal in 2021.
The exhibition featured the film “Hydrophilic Bounds”, a first episode on the science fiction series developed with the sound artist and performer Fallon Mayanja.
(Diogo da Cruz)
The first group of sculptures by Diogo da Cruz related to the project were presented in “looking up from underneath” at Forum Arte Braga, Portugal in 2021.
The exhibition featured the film “Hydrophilic Bounds”, a first episode on the science fiction series developed with the sound artist and performer Fallon Mayanja.
Sensing Satellite, 2021
(Fallon Mayanja)
Fallon Mayanja performed their piece “SENSING SATELLITE” for the finissage of the exhibition “looking up from underneath”.
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OUR WATERS WILL MEET, 2022
The project was further developed in 2022 at the Walk&Talk residency in the Azores, resulting in the exhibition “our waters will meet” with the second film “Deep Sea Rising”.
The exhibition proposes a science fiction narrative, which intertwines fragments of maritime mythologies with concerns around the possible consequences of deep-sea mining. Addressing the theme of colonialism, natural resource extraction and technological development, it featured the film “Deep Sea Rising”, the sculpture “Wave Jumper”, the performance “Sensing Satellite” and a series of underwater listening sessions.
The public sculpture “Wave Jumper” by Diogo which was made from rubble and surplus material from past editions of Walk&Talk, depicts an alien marine life form emerging near the harbour, prepared to defend its habitat.
Near the piece, at Piscinas do Pesqueiro, an underwater speaker was activated playing a composition by Fallon. Sound pieces that reflect the process of the film's creation and amplified the myth of an underwater civilisation.
Deep Sea Rising, video installation by Fallon & Diogo
(photos by Mariana Lopes)
Wave Jumper, sculpture by Diogo da Cruz(photos by Mariana Lopes)
UNDERWATER LISTENING SESSION, 2022
for Walk&Talk Arts Festival, Azores Archipelago July 2022
(photos by Álvaro Miranda)
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for Walk&Talk Arts Festival, Azores Archipelago July 2022
(photos by Álvaro Miranda)
DEEP SEA RISING, 2022
The film developed by Diogo da Cruz and Fallon Mayanja, introduces a series of stories and poetic reflections associated with different locations on the island of São Miguel, inviting one to reflect on the ubiquity of water and to look at the Atlantic not only as the place of origin of life, but also as a container of memory, and a witness of colonial crimes.
After the Atlantic Research Centre has been bought by a mining company, biologist Nadia Eckel returns to the Azores. This time with a very clear task: to present a report that confirms the resilience of the seabed biosphere, allowing the progress of deep-sea mining. However, in the course of analysing different water samples, both from the ocean floor and from other environments on the island, Eckel starts a dialogue with an unknown life form. Going back hundreds of years, Carlota and Aidan talk about the crossing that brought them to the island during a late afternoon walk. As the conversation unfolds, it becomes clear that Aidan lives beyond the human timescale and reappears in different forms throughout history, including after the extinction of the human species. Through microscopic and macroscopic perspectives of the island’s volcanic environment, the film invites us to reflect on the ubiquity of water and to look at the Atlantic not only as the place of origin of life, but also as a container of memory, a witness of colonial crimes committed by European countries. It is also a reminder that the seabed is largely unknown, and that it may harbour life forms capable of retaliating if humans continue to damage the marine environment.
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Deep Sea Rising, 2022, loop 4K video, colour and sound, 31 min
by Diogo da Cruz and Fallon Mayanja
staring Lea Vajda and Margarida Andrade
Camera: Diogo da Cruz, Fallon Mayanja and Florine Zegers
Sound recordist: Daniel Door
Color correction: Afonso Mota
With a version of the song “Tanchão” by Maria Antónia Fraga (Esteves), performed by Joana Albuquerque Sousa
The project is the result of a residency in the Azores Archipelago between February and April 2022, presented in the 11th edition of Walk&Talk Festival.
with the support of
Steiner-Stiftung München
Stiftung Kunstfonds/NEUSTART KULTUR
Excerpt of 2 minutes:
https://player.vimeo.com/video/738614467
EXCURSION THROUGH MYTHS, 2022
Diogo da Cruz and Fallon Mayanja developed the performative “Excursion through myths”, which guided a group of participants through specific locations of the island of São Miguel, connected with a certain layer of the narrative from the film “Deep Sea Rising”.
There was a short talk on each layer - Opacity, Horizon, Report, Atlantic, Encounter - at their respective locations - Pesqueiro, Lagoa do Congro, Porto de Vila Franca, Ilhéu de Vila Franca, drive to Ponta Delgada.
During the day we played some selected tracks by the electronic music duo Drexciya, which inspired our collaboration, introduced concepts by Édouard Glissant and Astrida Neimanis, and also referred to the Azorean myth of “Lagoa do Negro” and to a local folk song.
The invitation for the excursion:
“Unknowing has always led our imagination to create legends and fables that perpetuate themselves in
time and that are consolidated to the point of becoming unquestionable. The ocean, like any universe, still has a lot that humans do not know, and so it is a field full of myths. Starting from the work of Diogo da Cruz and Fallon Mayanja, this tour will take us to dive with the artists in this mythological ocean. We will only come to the surface to question whether what they tell us is reality or fiction, whether we are an extension of the ocean or if this is a part of us.”
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© Constanza Meléndez
UNDERWATER DISOBEDIENCE, 2024
“underwater disobedience” immerses visitors in the profound essence of water, weaving together sculptures by Diogo da Cruz, an eight-channel sound composition by Fallon Mayanja and collaborative audiovisual creations. Rooted in the philosophical currents of hydro-feminism*, their pieces delve into the interconnectedness of humanity with both fellow beings and the aqueous realms, viewing our bodies as transient vessels for the fluid that shapes our existence, and the Atlantic Ocean as a vast reservoir of collective memory.
Central to the exhibit is the experimental sci-fi film series, weaving together fragments of an afrofuturist saga depicting an underwater civilisation dwelling within the depths of the Atlantic, juxtaposed with reflections on the perils of deep-sea mining.
Within this evocative universe, da Cruz’s sculptures manifest as possible embodiments of the saga’s protagonists, while Mayanja’s sound installation offers novel avenues for auditory exploration.
Amidst this symbiotic convergence of artistry spanning the past three years, the duo unveils their latest creation: NUUN, a collaborative endeavour with Sebastian Giussani. This new sculpture emerges as a fluid manifestation of the Atlantic Ocean within the intricate waterways of Augsburg, inviting audiences to contemplate the depths of our interconnected existence.
* a movement that campaigns for the protection of water bodies and against pollution of groundwater, coral reefs and ocean acidification. The idea behind this is that humans are
largely made up of water and are therefore connected to all other living creatures, bodies of water and the earth.
“underwater disobedience” immerses visitors in the profound essence of water, weaving together sculptures by Diogo da Cruz, an eight-channel sound composition by Fallon Mayanja and collaborative audiovisual creations. Rooted in the philosophical currents of hydro-feminism*, their pieces delve into the interconnectedness of humanity with both fellow beings and the aqueous realms, viewing our bodies as transient vessels for the fluid that shapes our existence, and the Atlantic Ocean as a vast reservoir of collective memory.
Central to the exhibit is the experimental sci-fi film series, weaving together fragments of an afrofuturist saga depicting an underwater civilisation dwelling within the depths of the Atlantic, juxtaposed with reflections on the perils of deep-sea mining.
Within this evocative universe, da Cruz’s sculptures manifest as possible embodiments of the saga’s protagonists, while Mayanja’s sound installation offers novel avenues for auditory exploration.
Amidst this symbiotic convergence of artistry spanning the past three years, the duo unveils their latest creation: NUUN, a collaborative endeavour with Sebastian Giussani. This new sculpture emerges as a fluid manifestation of the Atlantic Ocean within the intricate waterways of Augsburg, inviting audiences to contemplate the depths of our interconnected existence.
* a movement that campaigns for the protection of water bodies and against pollution of groundwater, coral reefs and ocean acidification. The idea behind this is that humans are
largely made up of water and are therefore connected to all other living creatures, bodies of water and the earth.
NUUN – THE SUBAQUATIC BIRD OF THE ATLANTIC
for the interactive waterbird parade of Water & Sound Festival, Augsburg
The waterbird parade moved along Augsburg’s canals and waterways from Siebentischwald to the city center accompanied by saxophonist Nicole Johänntgen’s Ensemble Labyrinth. The original water bird, inspired by the ancient Egyptian mythological figure Bennu and the symbiosis of water and music, the cyclical and immortal, was be joined during the course of the parade by “NUUN – the Subaquatic Bird of the Atlantic”.
NUUN stands like a sentinel, bearing witness to both the events on the surface and the hidden dramas in the depths. Its form goes beyond mere sculpture and is at the same time a body of sound that resonates with the symphonies of the sea.
In a dynamic collaboration between the Munich-based Portuguese artist Diogo da Cruz, the Parisian sound artist Fallon Mayanja and the artist Sebastian Giussani, “the Subaquatic Bird of the Atlantic” is a captivating, multi-layered sculpture that embodies a mythical presence. This enigmatic creature, traversing time and the depths of the ocean, embodies the essence of the Atlantic – its ceaseless movement, its pulsating life and its poignant tales of loss.
In Roten Tor Park, the parade was joined by other musicians from the group Florence Adooni from Ghana, a contribution from the Ulrichsviertel with the Heigel-Rachmuth Ensemble and a “Waschfest” with performers Christiane Kuck and Sofía Montenegro Moreno, among others. Afterwards, the waterbirds continued through the old town along the canals to the stage of the Water & Sound Festival in the Annahof.
© Bayram Er & Fabian Schreyer
BLACK AQUATICS, 2024
performance by Fallon Mayanja with Gerald Odil for the opening of the exhibition
The performance is a poetic and political journey, conceived as a space for immersive listening, aquatic memory, and collective speculation. Combining text, song, vocal collage, and live electronic music, it explores the continuities and fractures of Afro-diasporic history through the prism of the ocean, voice, and sound. The piece is inspired by Paul Gilroy's “Black Atlantic” and Alexis Pauline Gumbs's “Undrowned”, seminal works in their approach to the flows, displacements, and survivals of the Black diaspora as forms of knowledge, resistance, and life.
performance by Fallon Mayanja with Gerald Odil for the opening of the exhibition
The performance is a poetic and political journey, conceived as a space for immersive listening, aquatic memory, and collective speculation. Combining text, song, vocal collage, and live electronic music, it explores the continuities and fractures of Afro-diasporic history through the prism of the ocean, voice, and sound. The piece is inspired by Paul Gilroy's “Black Atlantic” and Alexis Pauline Gumbs's “Undrowned”, seminal works in their approach to the flows, displacements, and survivals of the Black diaspora as forms of knowledge, resistance, and life.
CLUB NIGHT, 2024
In the context of the exhibition “Underwater Disobedience”, Diogo da Cruz and Fallon Mayanja, together with the team of Water&Sound Festival, organised an electronic music night at CityClub celebrating the legacy of Drexciya. Gerald Donald (co- founder of Drexciya) presented his live project Daughter Produkt and Fallon Mayanja had a DJ-set, along with two resident DJs.
CONCEPTION CC: techno & electronic music night with Daughter ProDUKT (aka Gerald Donald), Fallon Mayanja, Djonni Laser, Lindenberg Support
In the context of the exhibition “Underwater Disobedience”, Diogo da Cruz and Fallon Mayanja, together with the team of Water&Sound Festival, organised an electronic music night at CityClub celebrating the legacy of Drexciya. Gerald Donald (co- founder of Drexciya) presented his live project Daughter Produkt and Fallon Mayanja had a DJ-set, along with two resident DJs.
CONCEPTION CC: techno & electronic music night with Daughter ProDUKT (aka Gerald Donald), Fallon Mayanja, Djonni Laser, Lindenberg Support
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through the looking sea, 2025
For the last five years, we Diogo da Cruz and Fallon Mayanja have been creating a science fiction narrative through a series of films, alongside sculptures and sound performances, as a result of their dialogue on colonial structures and the unsustainable extraction of natural resources. Together, we explore the power of mythology and its potential to reactivate and reinvent histories and geographical spaces.
The Mediterranean Sea, with its rich historical, cultural and political significance, provides fertile ground for examining human entanglement with more-than-human entities. With a new collaborative project, titled “through the looking sea”, we propose an exercise for a speculative mythology of a community inhabiting the depths of the Mediterranean, re-imagining the memory of this body of water.
“OASES” is a fanzine crystallizing several visual and textual drafts of the duo’s research. These small publications are carried and supported by a series of small sculptures titled “breaching mammals”, while the sound piece “humid harmonia” serves as an invitation to dive into a sonic realm of the fictional narrative.
concept by Fallon & Diogo
“OASES” fanzine publication, A5, edition and texts by Fallon & Diogo
“breaching mammals” sculptures by Diogo da Cruz
“humid harmonia” 15 min, sound piece by Fallon Mayanja
In the context of the research residency of Onassis AiR Athens, May-July 2025.
For the last five years, we Diogo da Cruz and Fallon Mayanja have been creating a science fiction narrative through a series of films, alongside sculptures and sound performances, as a result of their dialogue on colonial structures and the unsustainable extraction of natural resources. Together, we explore the power of mythology and its potential to reactivate and reinvent histories and geographical spaces.
The Mediterranean Sea, with its rich historical, cultural and political significance, provides fertile ground for examining human entanglement with more-than-human entities. With a new collaborative project, titled “through the looking sea”, we propose an exercise for a speculative mythology of a community inhabiting the depths of the Mediterranean, re-imagining the memory of this body of water.
“OASES” is a fanzine crystallizing several visual and textual drafts of the duo’s research. These small publications are carried and supported by a series of small sculptures titled “breaching mammals”, while the sound piece “humid harmonia” serves as an invitation to dive into a sonic realm of the fictional narrative.
concept by Fallon & Diogo
“OASES” fanzine publication, A5, edition and texts by Fallon & Diogo
“breaching mammals” sculptures by Diogo da Cruz
“humid harmonia” 15 min, sound piece by Fallon Mayanja
In the context of the research residency of Onassis AiR Athens, May-July 2025.
Rehearsal for a Mediterranean
Underwater Community
During our research at Onassis AiR in Athens (May-July 2025), we led a workshop, Rehearsal for a Mediterranean
Underwater Community, where participants collectively imagined life beneath the Mediterranean Sea. The process
wove together personal memories, ecological concerns and diasporic imaginaries into a shared mythology, activating
a space of care and speculation.
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