Loss, in its most piercing and transitory states, is at the heart of Deb Todd Wheeler’s interdisciplinary work. Her ventures are co-created immersive experiences that engage with preserved spaces, from the urban wilds to historic bedrooms where no one is sleeping. Using geo-located sound, video, performance, or analog photographic practices, her work navigates the unwieldy terrain of grief and isolation by immersing small groups of people in experiences they can transform together.

NO SLEEPING, co-created with artist Sue Murad, is an immersive experience set in iconic historic houses in Massachusetts. Taking place under the cover of darkness, NO SLEEPING is a nomadic, responsive performance, rich in multi-sensory storytelling, that celebrates the photographic impulse to commemorate while recognizing the paradox of an interrupted future.

RADIO SILENCE at Lost Pond is a guided geo-located audio-walk in a partially remediated landscape, a grief ritual of sorts, with original music, sounds, and live storytelling. The Book of Walks supports a self-guided off-site RADIO SILENCE audio-walk.

THESE ARE THE FIRST WORDS connects personal and ecological grief in a geo-located audio-walk through the historically scarred urban wild of Governors Island in New York. In it, the first words of long-held condolence cards are intertwined with the cryptic speech of birds to create a soundscape of disjointed grief, evoking feelings of both love and helplessness. The experience brings into sharp relief the bridge between personal and environmental tragedy. If you are in the NYC area, and would like to beta-test this walk, click contact for the link and feedback form.

Visit current and past STUDIO work here, various MUSIC collaborations here, gathering and grief work. Along with her studio practice, she is a certified Deep Listening facilitator, an object maker, and an enthusiastically collaborative amateur songwriter and musician. She teaches at Clark University in a low residency program for visual artists that splits its time between Clark campus and MASS MoCA, where she is a core member of the MFA Faculty.

DEB TODD WHEELER