For the opening of her installation in CAM’s Sound Room, Francisca Rocha Gonçalves creates a performance in which light and sound gradually dissipate and ice sculptures morph. Evoking the natural conditions of its exposure to weather phenomena and the passage of time the sculptures transform into a single drop of water that will ultimately be a component of CAM’s new garden ecosystem. 

‘Interferences in the Tagus‘ is a large-scale installation combining different sound frequencies, ice and light, where the artist invites the public to confront the pervasive yet often unnoticed impact of noise pollution on the natural environment.

Focusing on the vocal species of the Tagus River, the work demonstrates how anthropogenic noise disrupts essential communication channels vital to the survival and reproduction of aquatic life. The installation integrates spatial soundscapes, sub-bass vibrations and laser projections that trace waveforms carved into ice sculptures.

Within an atmosphere where natural soundscapes and artificial noise converge, viewers are able to experience the invasive effects of noise pollution.

A project developed during the Art & Science Residency ‘A Call to the Sea‘, which took place at the Vasco da Gama Aquarium in 2024, in the municipality of Oeiras, as part of the European project ‘Bauhaus of the Seas Sails‘, with CAM – Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian serving as the Cultural Partner.

This performance uses strobe lighting and strong noises.