uYAKu: Sonido Líquido

uYAKu: Sonido Líquido, an exhibition curated by ISM fellow Felipe Ledesma Núñez, will be on view at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music’s Miller Hall at 406 Prospect Street, New Haven from February 5 - March 5 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 12 - 4 p.m.

uYAKu: Sonido Líquido presents an exploration of the acoustics and metaphysics of water and clay through a set of whistling bottles, created after the discovery of the only known archival record of their use.

Double-chamber whistling bottles are among the most mysterious of archaeological artifacts. Inside, they contain intricate acoustic mechanisms capable of producing sound on their own, revealing a technical and spiritual knowledge that remains only partially understood. Although thousands of these vessels have been found, their purpose remains a mystery.

This exhibition presents the only known historical record of their use: a seventeenth-century manuscript describing a whistling bottle in the form of a woman, venerated by a community in the Andean highlands. This vessel was not merely a ritual object; it embodied an ancestral progenitor, an Andean mother whose voice was audibly present.

Inspired by this ancestral figure, the exhibition brings together sound sculptures created by contemporary Latin American artists that reactivate the acoustic vitality of these ancient technologies. The works engage with the resonant past, exploring how clay, air, and water remain carriers of memory.

Featuring works by Felipe Ledesma, Genaro López, Daniel Mezones, and Samuel Tejeda.

Free and open to the public.

Co-sponsored by the ISM and the Yale Council on Latin American and Iberian Studies.

Installation: Ellis Berwick

All are welcome to join us for an opening reception for this exhibit on Wednesday, February 4 at 5 p.m.

We are excited to announce that the ISM will be linking its exhibitions to the Smartify app. The app is available as a free download from the App Store and Google Play, or you can access content through the ISM's page on Smartify. The Smartify app will allow you to directly scan artworks that are on display, as well as QR codes that are placed around the exhibition, to receive more information. You will also be able to save your favorite artworks and share them to social media.

Contact: Anesu Nyamupingidza

Photo: Felipe Ledesma molding a vessel, 2025