“Estática” is a group exhibition of sound art with works by Glauco Salvo, João Pedro Branco, Steve Hubback, André Silva Neves, Adam Tinkle, Daniel Antunes Pinheiro, Fernando Fadigas, Roi Carmeli and LealVeileby; all artists who have collaborated with Zaratan over the years in sharing sound investigations in various formats and contexts.

“Estática” considers sound not only as a means of artistic expression, but also explores its material, conceptual and phenomenological characteristics. The name of the exhibition refers to white noise, that is, the entire humanly audible sound spectrum precipitated at the same intensity, but also to that sound signal coming from amplified instruments when they receive only the electric current. At the same time, in Portuguese a play on words is created with the notion of “aesthetics” (“Static”/“Estática” - “Aesthetics” / “Estética)- which can be read as a provocation about the difficult categorization and insertion of sound in the field of the arts.

The sound inhabits the exhibition, often silently, making visible its multiple dimensions, sometimes equally artistic, sometimes cultural and social: the construction of the score; the ritualistic and therapeutic power of music; the physical and technological qualities of the audible.

The works presented provoke and evoke modes of active listening and an intensified relationship between interior and exterior space. At a time when personal listening devices and personalized playlists have become ubiquitous, shared listening spaces are increasingly rare. The artistic explorations presented range from a podcast with QR code to the construction of instruments, from sound as a word to a series of field recordings, in an alternation of contemplation and interaction.

The diversity of these works reflects a complex and opaque field. However, the exhibition postulates something specific: the way we listen determines the perception of what we hear.

 

Apoio: República Portuguesa – Cultura / Direção-Geral das Artes