SONAI — Niccolò Moronato

“How do you set a price for a life? SONAI’s idea is to unite individual sensibilities to explore the poetics of these ambiguous relationships between industry and sea.”

— Niccolò Moronato & Hugo Mir-Valette

“Fishermen are the last (and often only) people to feel the heartbeat of fish.”

— Cristiano, commander of M.P. Obbedisco

Developed between Chioggia and Marseille, SONAI (2022, ongoing) examines how maritime communities navigate global systems of value and control. Through their daily work, fishermen expose fundamental truths about how we price life itself, how local knowledge gets erased by regulation, and how irony and superstition become tools for survival within industrial frameworks. The project reveals how fishing communities, operating at the intersection of ancient practice and modern industry, offer crucial insights into resistance, adaptation, and maintaining humanity within mechanized systems.

“Sometimes we take time to smoke a cigarette, watch a ten-minute film, or look at the sun rising over the Adriatic or the clear sky dotted with stars. If the fishing is good, we can live on it for a few days. It’s a tough job, but I feel lucky to be able to appreciate so much of nature when I’m out there.”

— M.P Obbedisco Crew

Most fishers agree in describing the sea as something powerful that gives and takes, which you can never be completely certain about, but always have to deeply respect. That’s why many of them develop superstitious rituals, tie lucky mascots to the ship’s bow, and start the day with a mental checklist of things they pray and hope will be ok — the crew, the engine, the boat, the electronic instruments, the weather, the fish out there — so they’ll be able to do their job.

Fishers experience crucial tension: while electronic equipment guides vessels without looking out windows, ancient knowledge and human connection persist as fundamental components of industrial settings. Fishers also witness a critical transformation, while gaining marginal benefits from it: when fish cease to be living creatures part of the natural ecosystem and become an economic asset subject to regulations, fluctuation of value, demand patterns, speculation, branding, geographical displacement, and added value transformations.

“The work of fishermen is really close to the work of miners. It is repetitive, alienating, mechanized, and exhausting. There is not a single point on the vessel where you can reach out and touch the water.”

— Niccolò Moronato

“The fish market, dominated by traders and intermediaries, is a theater of brutal price increases and uncontrolled speculation.”

— Chioggia's Association of Fishers

Hyper-real Installation (2023)

SONAI began in 2022 in Chioggia, as a result of deep engagement with the local maritime community, and has since evolved into an expanding platform for artistic exploration and cultural exchange. Its debut was with a sonic immersive installation, which allowed the crew of M.P. Obbedisco to directly share with artists, curators, cultural researchers, and local youth their perspective on the beauty and struggles of the contemporary fishing practice. SONAI is a collaboration between Niccolò Moronato (Chioggia) and sound artist Hugo Mir-Valette (Marseille), organically growing into an expanding platform for maritime culture and artistic expression, welcoming community members from all walks of life, as well as artists and cultural practitioners.

SONAI welcomes new collaborations with artists, fishermen, local communities, and anyone whose practice engages with maritime life and culture. Whether through sound, image, performance, or presence, the platform invites participation in documenting and reimagining our relationship with water and the communities that depend on it.

The project will keep unfolding through multiple channels:

Sound synthesis from maritime technology
Documentary film and video work
Live performances and installations
Community engagement initiatives
Cross-Mediterranean cultural exchange

Immersive sonic experience, Chioggia, 2022.

SONAI explores new ways of listening to the Mediterranean Sea and narrating its landscapes, drawing inspiration from industrial fishing and the human and social experiences that characterize it.

Life onboard M.P. Obbedisco, Chioggia, 2022.

Exhibition leaflet, Chioggia, 2023.