In his practice, Rui Valério (Lisbon, 1969) explores the relationship between image and sound, repeatedly appropriating vinyl record covers, iconic cultural and material objects from the second half of the 20th century in which the image emerges as a ‘translation’ of a sound.

This rapid sequence of images is captured by a fixed camera, in a process reminiscent of animated film. The record covers are successively stacked, gradually approaching the lens (and the viewer) with an ever-closer focus. In a mounting frenzy, this uninterrupted flow of images is reinforced by an accelerated flow of sound, composed of musical fragments corresponding to each album, forming an intense and indistinct amalgam that we experience as ‘noise’.

The title of the work refers to one of the albums of 1990, a compilation of rock songs from a Spanish mass-market, low-cost record label, which echoes a historical moment of the growing democratisation and widespread adoption of pop culture and its global cultural and social impact.

In this work, Rui Valério presents his own history of rock music, a concept extended to include electronic music and jazz, featuring names such as B.B. King, The Beatles, Björk, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Grace Jones, Laurie Anderson or Lou Reed, reflecting the development of the artist’s personal collection of vinyl records. A collection (and a history) made up of presences and absences, of preferences and (mis)encounters, in a state of constant tension.