KNOWING WATER (2021)
Christabel Stirling and Matilde Meireles

‘Knowing Water’ was a commission for Open House Lisbon 2021 developed in close collaboration with the curators of the festival, Atelier Baldios. The project is a partnership between Trienal de Lisboa and Soncities.

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 behavior 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 two versions: Portuguese and English. Listeners are encouraged to experience the work as they cross the Tagus by boat.

Listen to the Portuguese version here and to the English version here.

Credits:

Christabel Stirling (Text and voice-over of the English version) and Matilde Meireles (Sound and voice-over of the Portuguese version). The sound pieces include field recordings by the two authors.

Voice over (Introduction and final text) - Beatriz Caetano Bento

Translation – José Roseira

Audio Production – Display SoundLab (intro and final text) and Merijn Royaards studio (voice-over recording)