Described as ‘a centre for the wisdom of the Earth, the body and sky’ in the Amazonian rainforest of French Guiana, Amakaba’s vision of collective healing is rooted in honouring the forest and preserving its wealth. For Amakaba, this practice is intimately connected to the Moon and lunar cycles – of birth and rebirth – that support natural forms of agriculture, including cacao and medicinal plants. Creating The Moon Center through Amakaba to honour meditation and yogic practices rooted in spirituality and connection, as well as womb health, Tabita Rezaire invited her friends to create sonic offerings to the Moon under the title Lunar Maria Chorus. This title honours the oceanic tides produced by the Moon’s gravitational pull, while referencing the lunar maria – ‘moon seas’ of solidified lava, which cover areas of the Moon in dark swathes of basalt. The Moon Center acknowledges the Moon as the focal point of cultural rites and scientific understanding since the beginning of human history. Amakaba and The Moon Center seek to learn from multiple knowledge systems, expanding decolonial discourses about the Earth’s ecology. 

Recently remastered, this sharing of the project in Goods continues a conversation between A4’s assistant curator Nkhensani Mkhari and Tabita Rezaire. Nkhensani has previously shared the sonic work of Amakaba’s Moon Center at the Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival in 2020, and again in 2021 at the Overkill Festival. In Goods, Lunar Maria Chorus evokes lunar and oceanic time, slowing the rapid flow and quick iteration that characterises the project space and its formal function as a Goods entrance. To the distinctive blue walls is added blue light, creating an immersive environment in which the curator encourages visitors to sit and bathe in the wisdoms and rhythms of the Moon and water.