Echoes of Armero
by Carlos Saavedra (Colombia) and Gaël Segalen (France)
The 22nd Biennale Aktuelle Musik organised by projektgruppe neue musik bremen presents five world premieres, three commissioned works as part of the focus ARTIVISM / International artists – Collaborations 2024: Colombia – France/Switzerland
As part of the biennial focus, three Colombian artists and three composers based in France and Switzerland will present their joint works created for this year’s festival.
In relation to colonial and post-colonial history as well as the particularities of Colombian cultural traditions and contemporary artistic approaches, the artists reflect on current socio-political issues with and in their art. November 2024
(from Bremen Biennale Catalog )
“In the shadow of the Nevado del Ruiz, the remnants of Armero stand as a silent testament to Colombia’s deadliest natural disaster. Nearly four decades later, photographer Carlos Saavedra explores this desolate landscape, seeking answers from the mountain itself.
Carlos’s journey is enriched by his collaboration with Gaël Segalen, a sound artist and composer with a background in social sciences. Together—paired by Artivism—they delve into the collective memory of the disaster, transforming the survivors’ and the missing’s stories into crossed narratives that bridge past and present.
Their project, ‘Echoes of Armero,’ weaves Carlos’s poignant photographs with Gaël’s audio layers—combining archival footage, traditional music, voices, field recordings, and electronics—to create a mesmerizing audiovisual essay. It not only revisits the tragedy but also engages with the silent emotions,personal stories, and metamorphosis that linger in its wake.
It avoids grand narratives, focusing instead on the intimate, the subtle, and the living—capturing how the life of Armero still resonates today. Through the echoes of tragedy and resilience, Carlos and Gaël prevent the truth from disappearing beneath the ruins of the past. The history of Armero still quietly harbors the ineptitude of state agencies that could have prevented the catastrophe, as well as the indifference of a government that used the clamor of tragedy to hide its war sins, or the institutional complicity in the disappearance and sale of children who were victims of the avalanche, among many other dark secrets that now, with this work, emerge from the depths of silence.This exploration goes beyond mere documentation; it engages in a profound dialogue with history and the elements, confronting the stoic mountain with the impossible question: ¿Por qué (Why)? It honors the memories of those lost, while grappling with the elusive echoes trapped in the silence of the landscape.”
YT link : soon
Teaser : soon
Live performance Biennale recording : soon
