Soundscapes of Trauma: Music, Violence, Therapy

Kletia Kokalari, music for a very very very small room
Nektarios Pappas, Pandemonium Argyris Rallias,
Sound-Map Manos Saklas,
Vertigo Devices > National Hellenic Research Foundation: atrium Elena Mparmpa,
Ear Myth Project led by Nektarios Pappas Co-ordinated by Anna Papaeti and Nektarios Pappas Organized by Dr Anna Papaeti in the context of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship MUSDEWAR at Panteion University in collaboration with Professor Athena Athanasiou 

Kleitia Kokalari, music for a very very very small room
Music for a very very very small room is an installation that deals with space and time. Its main purpose is to focus on the repetitiveness and the ensuing deformations/alterations. The isolation of space, the deceleration of time and the abnormal condition as an experiential process.

Elena Mparmpa, Ear Myth The work is an in situ installation of ephemeral nature comprising of 300 flowers. It theoretically draws on the unpublished poetry of Margareta Dorian, a close friend of Paul Celan, who wrote about gardens and their mythic symbolism. It also draws on testimonies about the use of music during torture at the headquarters of the Special Interrogation Unit of Greek Military Police at the back of Eleftherias park, Athens, during the military dictatorship (1967–1974). ​The installation consists of the phrase ‘Hear your way in, through the mouth’ written with mauve flowers, alluding to Dorian's poetry. The first part of the phrase is taken from her unpublished poetry; the second from an announcement for a poetry reading event. They constitute a rhetorical paradox between what cannot be said and of a call, between a cover-up and reality. As the flowers gradually wither, the remaining flowers form the words ‘Ear’ and ‘Myth’, alluding to the ‘musical myth’ surrounding Eleftherias Park. ​The garden is at the same time a public space and a ‘hide-out’ just like torture takes place very close to us yet in secret. In light of the fragile nature of flowers, the work attempts to preserve traces of this past rather than document it. The mauve garden becomes a reminder of reality, an intersection between dissemblance and reality that lives for as long as it can.

Argyris Rallias, Sound-Map The sound-map negotiates the concept of the map. It is a relief made of clay that does not consist of a contiguous body; it has been fractured and altered. A different map legend with sound can direct us without touching the clay, but only through our movements when we are in front of it. What sound could a piece of land from a large city make? Or a massive migration from one place to another? What sound waves does each part of our body emit? A still piece of land, an immovable piece, a piece of sound that is ever changing depending on the viewer’s position, bringing to mind the annoying sound of greeting cards opened on the wrong day; the happy Christmas tune ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas’ sounding torturous in the summer.

Nektarios Pappas, Pandemonium A sound traveling installation and performance Pandemonium is an apparatus for storage and reproduction of sound. It is a contemporary digital musical instrument and at the same time an ‘ultrasonic vehicle’, each time exploring specific fields of the sonic space-time universe.
On 23 May, Nektarios Pappas’ performance drives the Pandemonium into Soundscapes of Trauma.

Manos Saklas, Vertigo Devices Throughout history sound has been used as a medium of gaining control and power due to its profound ability to shock, haunt, and terrify. Its unique substance and quality reaches deep inside due to our sensory system, which allows us to hear sound, but also feel infrasound. Given its profound emotional impact, it is not surprising that sound has also been used as disciplinary instrument. During the last decades, we have embraced technology related to the use of sound as a weapon, from sonic devices used to control and attack protesters, to military drones that trigger apprehensiveness to victims under them by blasting loud audio. We are entering an era where sound is being repositioned and re-approached as an instrument of discipline and terror. 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Elena Barmpa artist She lives and works in Athens. She studied Computer Science at the Athens University of Economics and Business. Since 2016, she has been a student at Athens School of Fine Arts with Zafos Xagoraris (8th art studio). She has also studied with Heike Schuppelius and Angelos Antonopoulos. Her most recent project was a site-specific sound installation (Earthly and Unheroic) in collaboration with Eleusis 2021 European Capital of Culture. She is currently working on the theme of gardens as a political and cultural symbol as well as a public space.
Kleitia Kokalari artist Born in Albania, she was brought up in Athens. In 2007 she graduated from Veloudakis Fashion School of Design. She worked in fashion for ten years as a stylist and a visual merchandiser. In 2014 she entered Athens School of Fine Arts, where she has studied painting and sculpture. She has taken part in many workshops and group exhibitions. Her main artistic media are sound, video, and sculpture installations.
Nektarios Pappas artist Born in Athens, he studied sociology at Panteion University. Since 2014 he has been studying at Athens School of Fine Arts at Zafos Xagoraris’ studio. In 2018, he was Erasmus student at the Royal Academy of Arts, Antwerp. He also participated at the educational programme Radio Swamps, at the offical entry of Lithuania at the Venice Biennale of Architecture, and School of Listening (documenta 14: Kassel, 2016). He was one of the main speakers at Synantiseis#2 of documenta 14. From 2014 to 2015 he was music curator of the festival Μoving Silence, Athens. Since 2017, he has been working in sound-related educational programmes of the Onassis Cultural. His artistic practice mainly focuses on sound installations and interventions in pubic spaces.
Argyris Rallias artist Born in Chania, he grew up in Kythnos. He completed the Preparatory and Professional School of Fine Arts in Panormos (excellent), Tinos. He then continued his studies at the Athens School of Fine Arts. He has participated in many workshops in Greece and abroad, in sculpture symposia, and in numerous group exhibitions. He has collaborated with Greek and foreign artists, and has participated in many public interventions. Taking sculpture as his start point, he has designed and conducted educational programmes, and created works ranging from installations to performances.
Manos Saklas artist In 2016 he received the first prize of the entrance competition for Athens School of Fine Arts, where he is currently studying. He is also studying at Contemporary Music Research Center (C.M.R.C) and Ubique Class (former C.M.R.C), Athens. He won a scholarship for his second year at Ubique Class (2018/19). His research interests include sound studies, media art, perceptual psychology, video art, audiovisual arts, and electronic music composition. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions and performances, including ‘The Limits of Body’ (Contemporary Art in the Delphi) and Sonic Arts (Ionian University).