Knowing Water
Soundwalk by Matilde Meireles and Christabel Stirling
Throughout modern history, rivers have been used as transportation networks and border spaces, allowing cities to sprawl and urban prosperity to thrive. At the same time, the material, energetic qualities of rivers, their circulatory power, enigmatic behaviours and endless life forms tend to be overlooked. What story does the River Tagus tell us about the twin cities of Lisbon and Almada when its tangible, effervescent characteristics are permitted to rise to the surface? A work for headphones, “Knowing water" takes the listener on a sonic journey to the riverbed. Exploring the subterranean space in which both Lisbon and Almada are contained, it asks questions about the future of our cities and how water — in all its multivalence — might become more knowable to urban planning. The piece is available in three versions: Portuguese, English, and an immersive sound-only version. Listeners are encouraged to experience the work as they cross the Tagus by boat.
Credits: by Matilde Meireles (Sound and voiceover of the Portuguese version) and Christabel Stirling (Text and voiceover of the English version). The sound pieces include field recordings by the two authors.
Voice over (Introduction and final text) - Beatriz Caetano Bento
Audio Production - Dizplay SoundLab (intro and final text) and Merijn Royaards studios (voiceover recording)
Translation - José Roseira
This project was funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant contract no. 865032)
