Marc Vilanova presents Cascade, through EMAP
Marc Vilanova is an artist selected for the 2022 program of EMAP — European Media Art Platform, an initiative co-funded by the Creative Europe program. The work is co-produced by the Avatar Center (Quebec, Canada) and gnration (Braga, Portugal).
Waterfalls are the only continuous source of infrasound that we can find in Nature. Large waterfalls create extremely low frequencies that can travel up to 400 km. These frequencies exist below our audible range and are imperceptible to the human ear. However, other species can perceive them. More recent studies demonstrate how these frequencies are used in bird orientation, with some having exceptional sensitivity to detect infrasound. Detecting and memorizing the frequencies of waterfalls becomes the sensory basis for long-distance migrations. In recent years, studies have detected navigation failures in birds due to anthropogenic noise caused by industrial and urban sources of infrasonic frequencies.
Performed for the first time in Europe, and developed in artist residencies at gnration and Avatar (Quebec), Cascade uses infrasound recordings recorded at Montmorency Falls, in Quebec City, Canada. These recordings activate 88 loudspeakers, which are unable to reproduce these frequencies, but their vibration is transmitted to a luminescent optical fiber. In this piece, we can hear an attempt to reproduce these sounds and see their visual resonance through threads of light. The public is also invited to walk through the curtain of threads of light and perceive these invisible sounds through the body, trying to feel the vibration in an awareness of the multiplicity of realities that surround us.
Marc Vilanova is a Catalan visual and sound artist who works at the intersection between art, science and technology, through sound and light installations, performances and sculptures. His pieces have been presented at festivals in Japan, USA, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Iran, Taiwan, South Korea, Russia and many countries in Europe.
🎬 Take a look at the installation documentary ⬇️