This is her bio:
Lena Ortega Atristain aka Leena Lee is a Mexican sound artist, researcher, designer, and teacher specializing in nature/culture relations with a focus on soundscape ecology, bioacoustics, and field recordings. Through practice-based research, she aims to cultivate the community’s ecological consciousness by involving listening practices, field observation, recording, and soundscape composition. Her main focus is the bird population/individuals of nearby surroundings and how they relate to and are part of their territory. She approaches these inquiries by incorporating other dimensions of care and relationship with non-human animals and the environment that open possibilities to think critically about the spaces we inhabit and how we are environmental beings. She has been a visiting artist and researcher in different countries, participated in national and international exhibitions, and has published articles in collective books of philosophy, design, and sound art magazines. Member of the Arte+Ciencia research and production group of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and currently teaching at the Environment University in Valle de Bravo, Mexico.
I think this lecture will help me with my dissertation and current prototype project. As soundscape ecology, bioacoustics and field recordings are the main interest. She also has the idea of how field recording and listening can help bring environment awareness and allow us to think critically within these spaces, something I’m also doing research into! I hope it’s as good as I think it will be.
BIRD ENCOUNTERS
This project is centred around the current environmental climate that we exist in. It discusses the need for nature with humans and how we should focus our attention back towards the relationships between humans and the non-human world that exists. One way of doing this is through soundscape ecology, listening, and field recordings. The project proposal outlines a framework in which these acts can be obtained.
One of the main products of this project is to develop a transdisciplinary-experimental protocol that incorporates other dimensions than those typically considered in current listening research and the study of bioacoustics and soundscape ecology such as: dialogue, care, and accompaniment. We will use field recordings in artistic compositions with the intention of communicating ecological themes to listeners’ bodies, rather than discussing concepts, representing or reconstructing soundscapes. Instead of working with hypotheses, we will open experimental fields with no fixed direction and no previously established purpose.
It then goes on to discuss the steps that took this project into actuality. Firstly a conference to locate and understand current issues within the climate and discuss critically how and where these issues are occurring, finally hosting a sound workshop with participants that will lead into a sound concert and installation which combines the field recordings from both the sound walks and field recording trips with soundscapes of the cities to create a sonic piece that communicates emotions.
I find myself fitting very much within the same ideas and frameworks presented here. I want to create a sound walk booklet guide for my field recording process after researching this. I think alongside the finished pieces I want to create a booklet that explores the issues within the area and a few tasks to listen to and explore further within the space.
SONIC ALLEGORIES
Sonic Allegories is a project that seeks to explore the atmospheres in-between spaces, sounds that are barely perceptible, and areas of transitional space. The artists responded to two different locations within this framework of thinking one Cantera Oriente reserve in Mexico City and the other in TerraAstroCene a sonic walk in Evora at the Cromlech de Los Almendros.
Cantera Oriente reserve of Mexico City which was recorded is called the A3 buffer zone that sits in an ecological research laboratory from the UNAM university. Originally the site was a quarry and an asphalt plant which after being exploited for 25 years turned out to enclose a natural spring. When this was discovered the plant was closed down and returned back to the university. After the closure, the 16ft holes were covered in the soil so that plants could grow once again. Field recordings taken from this area were used in the compositions, they each tell a story of the place. Sounds of air and water, stories of above and below.
The second location Cromlech de Los Almendros, Evora Portuga, recorded soundscapes of the largest megalithic monument of the Iberian Peninsula. The sounds were composed into a sound walk in Mexico city and deals with the presence of the monument, the idea that because it dates back to Neolithic times and it has had to withstand so much change in the world makes its sonic presence interesting.
I found this piece to be captivating, and the motivations to be similar to my own work for my prototype project. I’m curious to do further research and to critically reflect upon my work and learn from their project as well. The two 15-minute tracks and video results are beautiful.
Post-Lecture Reflection:
She begins by wanting to do a Pauline Oliveros exercise. She asks us to sit on the edge of the chair, put our feet on the floor, have contact. Try to bring your mind to this moment present, focus on your breathing and take a couple of breaths together. Put your hand on your chest and feel your heart, tap the rhythm lightly.
She loves this exercise because it gives us an opportunity to be in the same place even though it’s virtual and everyone is far away in these online meetings.
She works in the intersection of nature and culture through sound. An environmental approach to sound, care, dialogue and accompaniment.
Listening is an act of relating to the world, listening is about resounding with the world of which I am part.
Nan Shepherd was someone who pioneered accompaniment In environmental activities. The idea of going to nature just to be there, not for a reason. To reach a summit or to hike across it but to simply be and accompany the space.
Hildegard Westerkamp the pioneer of sound walks created sound walks and the concept of simply being within the space, establishing a respectful relationship within the space you are entering.
Niebla was an album released in march 2022, this album explores the entanglements of nature and humans and non-humans. Situating the listener within the forest ecosystem. A place not of alienation but of consideration. This explores the symbolic relationship and engagement of the users and non-human species in the forest.
She then plays the album for us. Twenty minutes in length.
She used very simple materials to create it. The multi-media piece is thought to be watched on a screen and she used stock photography from the internet. She wanted the audio to be the main guide and so she created very simple visuals.
This piece is inspired by the practice of sound walking from Westerkamp.
The research takes a life of its own for her when researching projects. It allows her to focus and use binaural beats and field recordings which are great for her.
She was recently invited to a series of sound meditations inspired by Pauline Oliveros. It’s a program that has been going on for ten years. What she likes about this project is that it opens up something so specific like sound arts and something so specific like meditation to the public. Mothers, fathers, dogs, children. Everyone of all types attends.
They tried to move from the acoustic part of the presentation to the electronic part back to the acoustic part. She shows us a work file to listen to.
This piece was one part of two parts of performances, she likes to always include narratives and storytelling but she never tells anyone what the story is. It just helps her build structure and where it should go. She won an investment in their work and they went directly to the forest. Her room was over a place where the frogs would sing all night and this made part of the recordings, she also discusses the idea of sharing works in progress and hearing the process is important and helps, even more, to understand where we are at.
She finally moves to the last piece of work she wishes to show us.
This is another project in collaboration with her artist friend. They only focussed on one field recording, their process was that they decide on one tone that they want to base their whole performance on and explore that. For her also gestures are very important, she had a really beautiful fish bowl with water and used one of these controllers and put a few tones into the controllers and it’s her touching the water triggering the controller.
She also likes to work with lighting to create a sense of atmosphere, her PhD studies were focused on atmospheres and the reaction bodies receive from light.
Overall this lecture was thoroughly interesting, her ideas around the Anthropocene and capitolocene as well as the dichotomy of humans and non-humans. Ways of listening as understanding and situating. To give time and space to understand our connection with the non-human world, something similar to biophilia. I do wish perhaps she discussed more into this than just playing long pieces but I did still enjoy it. I will take some ideas presented into my own works as I finish off the compositions and editing, and perhaps make a booklet guide.