This intervention initially intended as this year’s SonarMies proposal, moves to a new schedule and finds a new motivation from the circumstances arised by the pandemic.
Emerging out of the recent lockdown,
Katarzyna Krakowiak brings forward this innovative experiment at the
Mies van der Rohe Pavilion that adopts the form of a sound composition as a voice of our life lived together, a question about the current state and future survival of our community, its openness, freedom and creativity. A call for hope.
Resulting from an open call that brought contributions from hundreds of people from all over the world, this constantly expanding sound piece comprises words in a wide array of languages sent in during the recent weeks. Words that the participants want to make last. Words that they want to take responsibility for and contribute with to the life we all live together.
“We wanted to find a new language, a new narrative about design and architecture through sound. I like the idea of talking about it not as a sound installation but a sound sculpture.”
Marcin Szczelina, curator.
The artist’s initiative transforms the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion into a site of enquiry, into a new language of architecture and architecture of language.
Katarzyna Krakowiak composes an architecture that speaks – not only with words, but also with the spaces between them that open up a territory of critical enquiry on architecture, language, our current and future community; a site of diversity and difference. Presented at the Pavilion, the polyphonic composition is a collection of words – submitted by participants used in search of a new common language.
More than 300 words have been purposely sent for this intervention in 14 different languages from around the world: Polish, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, Vietnamese, English, Catalan, Italian, Russian... among others.They all form the final piece.
“These possible extensions of the composition are fascinating. It’s important that this project is open to any and all reactions. We are living in an era of numerous protests, the global situation causes not only loneliness or sadness, but also anger. I’m interested in the shadow space between the words – the space for reaction, and in a situation which is not really planned and organised”
Katarzyna Krakowiak.
“This is what’s interesting about this piece for the Pavilion. It can work when nobody is there, with just one person inside, or else with a huge crowd. Working with the Pavilion this way, where the experience can be so different depending on the situation, the artist has foreseen how people can react – not only to the piece, but also to the building.”
Ivan Blasi, curator - Fundació Mies van der Rohe.
The project’s first iteration takes place in Barcelona and online. The composition will later travel to other cities, building spaces of translations, both between the languages of the project participants and between architectural and linguistic structures. Spaces where the horizon constantly extends in as yet unknown directions.
