“The sublime and the uncertainty invade my actions. I hack the human perception of space-time as a form of civil disobedience and social auto-reorganization.” (Jorge Christian Galarreta Pando, aka Sajjra Xhrs Galarreta). Peruvian artist with an extensive experience in multimedia art, song-writing and electroacoustic music composition. Since 1998, he has performed and show his work in Latin America, Europe and Asia with different art projects and bands. His work has been published by the labels Tsonami Arte Sonoro, Sub Rosa, Aloardi, Buh Records and Schematic among others. He received among others grants: a grant from the Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (Mexico City, 2008), a commission by Documenta 14 (Athens – Kassel, 2017), and a commission by Foundation Idraola (The Netherlands, 2019 - 2021) with the support of Prins Bernhard Fund and Akademie Schloss Solitude. He is currently living in Rotterdam and periodically directing an artist-in-residency program and a series of sound-walks in Anatolia (Turkey).
‘IA Maastunnel’ (site-specific performances, interventions, sound-walks and publication; 2020) - Directed by Sajjra Xhrs Galarreta and Janneke van der Putten as part of their project 'Invisible Architecture' (2013–2020), 'IA Maastunnel' is a 21-minute documentary in sound and moving image highlighting the hidden acoustic behaviors of the Maastunnel in Rotterdam : a 500-meter-long tunnel under the Maas river. It was published as a handmade art object in a limited edition of 50 copies, with a design based on the maps of the Maastunnel. The art object contains the video documentary (USB, HD movie, stereo, 21'09'') and its soundtrack (audio cassette, raw field recordings without electronic effects, side A: 15'13”, side B: 15'00” ).
‘ArkaIra’ (research project, open studio, musical score, textile and sound installation; 2020–2021) - A method for manually translating the patterns of an ancient Peruvian textile into a composition for three grand pianos. The way the notes of the pianos interact with each other is based on the way an Andean musical instrument called "Siku" is played: the scale is divided between two different sikus and completed only when played by two musicians. These two scales are called "Arka'' and "Ira". A version of this piece was adapted to function as a sound installation played very slowly and rotating between three loudspeakers generating a timeless effect. The installation was presented at Textiel Fabrique as part of South Explorer and Charlois Special (Rotterdam, 2020).
‘Tupac Amarus’ (feedback sound-light installation; 2011-2014) - The installation consists of handmade sound sensors, flexible LEDs, recycled metal materials, a MIDI interface, a Pure Data patch, a computer and two speakers. Visitors to this installation are immersed in a life experience that awakens their immediate memory: sudden blackouts, noises and silence provoke ephemeral audiovisual effects on their retina and sense of hearing. The mutual interferences between the components of this installation and the visitors give rise to a perceptive spiral. People become part of the presence of "Tupac Amarus" ("shining snakes" in Quechua). This installation refers to the blackouts and flashes produced by bombs during the armed conflict between the Peruvian government and the guerrilla groups Sendero Luminoso and MRTA (Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru) between 1982 and 2000. "Tupac Amaru" was the name of the man who led the most important indigenous rebellion against the 18th century Spanish colony in the Americas. This piece transfigures a violent fact of our human condition into an experience of ritual play and joyful purging. The installation was presented at Tsonami Arte Sonoro (Valparaiso, 2014), Stichting Centrum (The Hague, 2012), APO33 (Nantes, 2011).
‘Electromagnetic and Acoustic Detritus’ (sound performance, acoustic experience; 2006–present) - Live detection and amplification of electromagnetic fields to generate psycho-acoustic experiences. Phase interferences between closely (de)tuned pitches are performed with recycled electronic waste and sensors. The human body and the sound reflections of the room resonate causing perceptual radical effects. This performance is being presented to date in galleries, halls and festivals in Latin America, Europe and Asia. The video shared above is from a live performance in Audio Art Festival (Krakow, 2011).
‘Melismas: Voices Modulated by Anatolian Landscapes’ (radio piece, live set; open call for residences and sound-walks; 2021–present) - Residency and sound-walks series to listen at a distance to the Azan* singing and how its sound is radically modulated by the rural landscape of Demre (Turkey). This sound-walks also involve live listening of this soundscapes through electromagnetic fields, underwater sounds and other vibratory phenomena. This initiative is based on the ideas Sajjra Xhrs Galarreta applied when making the field recordings for a radio piece commissioned and broadcasted by Q-O2 / Oscillation Festival – Tuned Circuits 2021 (Brussels); and rebroadcasted by the online radio stations Kool Kast (France) and Ma3azef – Badlcukwind show (Tunisia). *The Azan is the Islamic call to pray, sung by a muezzin at prescribed times of the day from a high Minaret placed in a mosque.
‘Electrosmog and Amplified Hearing’ (sound-walk and workshop; 2012–present) - Indoors and outdoors sound-walks to experience vibratory phenomena normally imperceptible for humans. The sense of hearing and different transducers are used – such as handmade electromagnetic antennas, contact microphones, hydrophones and environmental microphones – paying attention to the acoustic energy and the physicality of the environment. In this project, architectural and natural structures are shown as acoustic filters of their surroundings. Presented at: Rietveld Academy (Amsterdam, 2022), Melismas Residency (Antalya, 2022), Charlois Special (Rotterdam, 2018), XII Festival Ecuatoriano de Música Contemporánea (Quito, 2016), Tsonami Arte Sonoro (Valparaiso, 2014), Academy of Fine Arts (Vienna, 2014).
