Listening as an artistic practice

Raquel Castro talks to Jacob Kirkegaard about ‘Testimonium’, discussing the project developed in the Portuguese capital, as well as other works by the artist that will serve as a starting point for a broader reflection on listening, ecology and the role of sound art in the contemporary world.

Jacob Kirkegaard’s work focuses on investigating complex, remote or usually inaccessible contexts such as waste management systems, territories marked by radioactivity, thawing or industrial infrastructure, exploring sound as artistic material and as a tool for knowledge. Through vibration sensors, hydrophones and contact microphones, the artist reveals the acoustic dimensions of phenomena and materials that remain, for the most part, outside the realm of human perception.

In dialogue with curator Raquel Castro, issues such as listening as an ethical gesture, the relationship between sound art and ecological awareness, and the capacity of artistic practice to create spaces for attention, reflection and transformation will be explored.

More than an analysis of this work, this conversation is proposed as a moment of shared listening, where sound emerges as a testimony to the world we produce and inhabit.

This conversation will be followed by a performance by Jacob Kirkegaard with the sound artist Clara Saleiro.