From 02 de October 2024 al 16 de February del 2025
The installation brings together a variety of sound recordings, including those of walks in the city (around MAMM), collective breathing meditations, and sound improvisations with bird songs from the region. These recordings were made by a group of fourteen participants in a deep listening workshop conducted by Ximena Alarcón in September. These sounds are integrated with a sonification process of data on air pollution levels in Medellín with PM2.5 particles during the initial six months of 2024, as provided by the Early Warning System of Medellín and the Aburrá Valley (SIATA).
The data serve as a continuous, dynamic soundscape, undergoing transformations in rhythm with the activation of proximity sensors located around Lab3. As visitors approach and move within the installation space, the fundamental soundscape undergoes alterations. In consequence, the installation space is not merely a site for contemplation but also one of bodily engagement. Visitors exert an influence on the sound dynamics of the space, symbolically reducing the density of the particles and thereby facilitating the audibility of the vital sounds of the city. The work is activated through the body and breath as a fusion of beings that make the call to become air.
Traces of Air encourages reflection on the relationship between humans and the air we share. It prompts consideration of the ways in which this shared air, imbued with memories and life, connects with our emotions, health, and environment. As visitors navigate the space, they become integral to a collective of respiration, as postulated by the philosopher David Abram. The installation suggests that, through the body, memory, and breathing, we can learn to interact reciprocally with the air, recognizing our interdependence with the urban and global ecosystem.
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About Ximena Alarcón
She explores the relationships between memory, migration, and ecology, using deep listening and sound improvisation as part of her method. With a PhD in Music, Technology, and Innovation from De Montfort University (England), she has developed projects such as Intimal, in which she explores the body and migratory memory through telematic installations and surround sound.
Artist acknowledgments: Adriana María Gutiérrez Grisales, Alejandro Ochoa Escobar, Isabella Ardila Sandoval, Esteban Penagos Avendaño, Juan Camilo Bernal, Santiago Gallego Escudero, Brenda I. Steinecke Soto, Simón Quintero Gutiérrez, Sofía Marín Ibarra, Daniel Upegui Flórez, Juliana Pinilla, María Rueda, José Julián Cadavid Sierra, Esteban Henao y Ron Herrema.
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