WHEN DUST SETTLES

Soundperformance & Installation

The experimental composition „When dust settles“ explores the sounds of a city in transformation and turns them into an acoustic reflection. At the heart of the piece are the everyday noises of construction and redevelopment, often perceived as disruptive or even unbearable. They not only stand for change and transformation, but also symbolize the speed and impermanence of contemporary life. 

In the sound piece these urban sounds, arising from the process of city restructuring, are treated as an archive of collective memory, reinterpreted through careful arrangement and attentive listening. Field recordings of old, still-standing buildings, new machines, and the voices of those involved in the transformation merge within the composition. The juxtaposition of old and new—stones, earth, structures, voices, and sounds—creates an acoustic collision of different temporalities. Demolition and reconstruction together tell a story of transition.

The length of the piece is determined by the duration of the construction process, in which an object is built from concrete and other materials during the live performance. During the performance, the piece is saved in real time on a data medium that is simultaneously moulded into the growing concrete object. In this way, a fleeting moment is captured but remains inaccessible. Buried, but preserved as a memory.

In Collaboration with Pierre Stadelmann

Live-Performance: Hameline Abraham, Pierre Stadelmann, Anaïs Vintour and Ursula Winterauer

Video production: Astrid Serafini (association jump and stay)
Camera: Marine Bréhin
Production assistant: Théophile Chenière
Sound mix: Phil Tremble

When dust settles was created in the context of the Creative Europe project Slash Transition, in collaboration with Trempo

gallery images by Margeaux Martin’s
hospital image by Ursula Winterauer