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Exploring the WRO Archive as part of the exhibition “something that changes in time” – a programme by Dagmara Domagała.

Onomatopoeias are an essential part of language, the basis for describing the world, which does not require knowledge of the names of objects or phenomena, but refers directly to imagination and memory. Onomatopoeias, or onomatopoeic expressions, are linguistic imitations of extra-linguistic sounds and acoustic effects. When uttered, they evoke emotions, associations and images.

I have used this key in selecting materials for exploration during Thursday meetings with the WRO Archive. I will present documentation of artistic projects in which the artists tell stories and evoke emotions, attempt to create a new language of sounds, translate the non-image with the language of pictorial imitation.

We will see and hear materials from the WRO Archive, arranged in tracks according to five guiding themes: audiosphere, vibration, hearing/body, voice, and rhythm.

The WRO Archive encompasses a collection of works of Polish and international media art – from the 1970s to the most recent productions. Constantly supplemented and elaborated, the documentation of events, works and exhibitions also includes statements by artists, theoreticians and scientists, as well as materials recorded during conferences and debates.

Oct 26, 2023 – Onomatopoeias: hush shush

Audiovisual projects that chart soundscapes. What does concrete sound like? What does the moon sound like? What does the night sound like? What does silence sound like? The archive track at this meeting will consist of realisations in which artistic individuals sonify (present information in the form of non-speech sound) data – whether objective, scientific, mathematical, or completely subjective, situational, directly related to the realm of emotion and memory.

Nov 16, 2023 – Onomatopoeias: ring, ring

The ringing sound has become a thing of the past with the advent of the polyphonic system on phones. I have noticed, however, that it has left a very significant trace, which is linked to another theme of the ‘something that changes in time’ project: vibration.
Smartphone users in public spaces, according to my personal observation, are divided into those polyphonic and those in silent mode. But is it entirely silent? Turning off the ‘ringtones’ on the phone often results in their replacement by vibrations – vibrations that are at the very base of the physical phenomenon of sound and personal auditory experience.
A ringing sound would not exist without vibration.
Therefore, I invite you to an overview of sound-vibrating installations, extending the boundaries of hearing and exploring alternative uses of silent modes.

Nov 30, 2023 – Onomatopoeias: brrr

Shuddering, whether from cold, horror or disgust, is the reaction I want to evoke by presenting artistic projects gathered under the onomatopoeia ‘brrr’. On the programme: exploring the limits of the body and pushing the limits of the chosen medium.

Jan 4, 2024 – Onomatopoeias: murmuring hum

A para-therapeutic session with white noise. On the programme, a selection of works from the archive which, by their repetition and their uniform rhythm and frequency – both in sound and image – will evoke the onomatopoeia ‘ufff’. We will mainly be lost in the forest.

Feb 1, 2024 – Onomatopoeias: bang bang!

Programme for adult audiences only. Trigger warning: guns, violence
You can shoot the victim, but you can also make a photoshoot. The trigger is found in both the camera and the gun. In this meeting, I will try to trace the relationship between visual arts and the art of war.

Feb 15, 2024 – Onomatopoeias: heartbeat

The heartbeat is nothing more than the rhythmic contraction of the atria with subsequent contraction of the ventricles. An uninterrupted rhythm with an average frequency of 60-80 beats per minute defines the human vital signs. In other words – the best audible sign of life is the heartbeat. Symbolically, however, the heart is also the source of empathy and related emotions, such as love, or even the source of the human soul. Machines are, by definition, heartless. However, I would like to look at the different spirits in the machine from our archive. And the fact that yesterday was Valentine’s Day has nothing to do with it at all.

Feb 29, 2024 – Onomatopoeias: clapping

Slapping the palm of the hand as an expression of appreciation, agreement or praise. Applause is an enthusiastic gesture that generates a lot of noise. To trigger them you need a stimulus, a reason and two limbs. Enthusiastic gestures, singing limbs and clapping when there are no limbs at all – all of this in the recent WRO archive review at the exhibition ‘something that changes over time’.