~Buildings do not react to our gaze but they do return our sounds back to our ears. ~Juhani Pallasmaa
Augmented Soundwalk: Symphonic Poem for 3 performers, 1 abandoned building and one town, Athens 2023 | Performer Mairi Vasilaki
Photography by: Eliza Soroga
How do we inhabit the uninhabited and what is the echo of a building that has no voice? Starting from these questions the augmented soundwalk seeks to explore the intricate interplay between architecture, sound, and human presence. As performers and participants traverse through spaces typically devoid of life, the soundscape transforms, resonating with histories, memories, and contemporary narratives embedded within the built environment. The performance plays with on and off site experience perceiving the urban space as a “macrocosmic musical composition” in which we are composers, performers and listeners at the same time. Audience members are enveloped in an immersive audio collage, comprising field recordings, music, and literary texts, relayed through headphones. Concurrently, performers activate the building through a dynamic soundmaking process, guiding participants on a promenade through the neighborhood.The outcome is a harmonious duet with the city: urban atmospheres, urban artifacts, chance encounters, and everyday activities coalesce into a symphony of sounds. As we walk, this orchestrated symphonic walk prompts us to reconsider our relationship with the urban landscape, inviting us to rethink on the different ways in which we shape and are shaped by the spaces we inhabit.
Performers: Martha Mavri, Irini Kalogeropoulou, Mairi Vasilaki
Conception/Performance: Martha Mavri, Irini Kalogeropoulou, Mairi Vasilaki
Audio creation: Irini Kalogeropoulou
Location: Mavrikiou street, Athens
Duration: 20’
The augmented soundwalk was created in the context of Site specific performance workshop facilitated by Eliza Soroga
