Q: How does one go about engineering Cleopatra’s pop revival? 

A: Reincarnate the Egyptian queen as a CGI karaoke temptress for the information age, singing a love song in nine extinct languages.

French artist Marguerite Humeau’s beguiling digital ode positions her between art, pop and academia, combining hard fact with elements of contemporary myth, science fiction and the occult. Invited to take part in the Extinction Marathon at the Serpentine Galley, Humeau resurrected Cleopatra’s voice with the help of language specialists to sing an Ancient Egyptian song in Ge'ez, Median, Ancient Greek, Arabic, Egyptian, Aramaic, Ancient Hebrew, Troglodyte and Persian.

Why conjure a performance by Cleopatra?
Marguerite Humeau: She’s an iconic figure but there are few texts that describe her voice. To me she was a very sensual person. There’s this very particular text by Plutarch which describes her voice, but also her presence as someone who was almost bewitching. "There was sweetness also in the tones of her voice; and her tongue, like an instrument of many strings, she could readily turn to whatever language she pleased… “ Life of Antony (XXVII.2-3)

Where did the idea to revive Cleopatra as a 21st-century diva come from?
MH: I was really interested in the future of performance and this idea of resuscitating the dead in pop culture. One of my previous projects was a full opera reconstructing the vocal tracts of four prehistoric creatures. What would happen if I could do that with Amy Winehouse? Recreating her voice so we could create music from her synthetic vocal chords? And then I thought that Cleopatra would be a good place to start.

Where does your interest in prehistory and ancient culture come from?
MH: I’m interested in ancient cultures because they are black boxes, there are many things that cannot be told about history. I think to work in a space that is about this absence of knowledge is very exciting because it means, not only do I have to reconstruct ghosts, but it also provides me with the freedom to invent a new visual language.

Marguerite Humeau is performing at Extinction Marathon Saturday October 18, where Cleopatra “That Goddess” is screening throughout.