A melancholic song, O Willow Waly, sung by the artist Susan Philipsz, echoes throughout this space after eight minutes of silence: We lay, my love and I, beneath the weeping willow, But now alone I lie and weep beside the tree. This work evokes memories of trees and water, and the absence of a loved one, to express longing for a past uncorrupted by the ailing of the present. Music often summons powerful and varied emotional states. The human voice in particular can elicit deep emotion, including immense sorrow. Philipsz invites listeners to turn inward and contemplate their own feelings across time. As the BMA considers the ecological impacts of human presence on our environment today, this artwork’s expression of loss extends to the world around us.