In March 2026 I received my first artist grant for Algo(g)rave: The Manual for Dying, a project for Bombay Beach Biennale X in California. It consists of one speaker-equipped coffin where participants lie down and move through death via looping soundscapes: white noise resolving into songs, thunderstorms, and poetry about death. Inspired by Buddhist earthly hells, the piece treats death as white noise rather than silence. A ritual offering lets participants hear their own funeral. The project also includes a one-hour and forty minute soundscape created by 15 artists from all over the world. It was mixed and mastered by Katana and aired on the radio station.
Credits
Lead Designer & Builder: Katana Calderwood
Assistant Builders: Mark Calderwood, Carol Calderwood, Alex Calderwood
Audio Engineer: Alejandro Sanchez-Medina
Assistant Audio Engineer: Katana Calderwood
Audio Artists: Bad Cable, Bito, Cameron Gregg, chebel, drmbt, Earl Scioneaux III, Ira Birch, Kamau Zuberi Akabueze [Kza the Alien], Katana Calderwood, Marzipan [Scriptures I Have Loathed], Ria Rajan [Master Fader], The Most Grandiose [EVER], Tristan Rio Music, Wiley Davis, Ygor Marotta, Yulia Vvendenskaya, ψ [Pseudo]
Mixed & Mastered: Katana Calderwood
Photographer: Vincent Naples & Katana Calderwood
Assistant Photographer: Alejandro Sanchez-Medina
Mask Designer: Catarina Noronha
Models: Yulia Vvendenskaya & Katana Calderwood
Grant Funding: Bombay Beach Institute for Industrial Espionage & Post-Apocalyptic Studies