Wish We Weren't Here (2023)
Wish We Weren't Here is a project concerned with noise pollution as a phenomenon that permeates multiple scales and temporalities.
The piece includes a four-channel installation and a series of sonic postcards.
Utilizing four steel sheets and transduction of a 4-channel soundscape composition into vibrations, the piece transports listeners to several vulnerable environments
along the Pacific Coastline in Vancouver, a contaminated bay in New York, Walden Pond in Massachusetts, Canaveral National Seashore, and the Finnish Arctic Circle.
The composition gradually evolves, weaving together field recordings from places I visited and stayed in for extended periods of time over the past three years.
Captured through geophones, hydrophones, electromagnetic field detectors, ultrasonic sensors, and other technologies,
the field recordings convey the irreconcilable tensions between the human and non-human realms, revealing how the sounds of the past have transformed and transduced
into present-day soundmarks
that define and haunt these locations and events therein.
The installation is complemented by a limited edition of sonic postcards playable as vinyl records and inspired by similar innovations from the past.
In contrast to those historical postcards that conveyed cheerful and inviting sounds, this series presents listeners with instances of noise pollution
from the places they represent, prompting reflections on which aspects of these locations we consider as emblematic.
The cards are available for purchase, and the proceeds are dedicated to combating environmental pollution.
You can read more about the project here
The piece and accompanying sonic postcards were part of "Crossover," a group exhibition organized by Flat Octopus and presented at Studio 44 in Stockholm between November 10 and 26, 2023. Besides these pieces, my contribution included two soundwalks and a sound performance focused on bringing attention to instances of environmental pollution and electrosmog. Other artists featured in the exhibition included Konrad Juściński, tm, and Garage Artists.
