Sonic Horizons
2022 - Ongoing
Drawing, Spatial Proposition, Writing
Alentejo, Portugal
2022 - Ongoing
Drawing, Spatial Proposition, Writing
Alentejo, Portugal
Sonic Horizons investigates the entwined mutation of Portuguese colonialism and its agricultural projects in Alentejo, a predominantly rural region in southern Portugal.
The soils of Alentejo have long borne the weight of colonial extractivism. Plantations of genetically-homogenised wheat under the Estado Novo have transitioned into super-intense olive groves that intend to maximise immediate production and mine EU subsidy structures. The result is widespread desertification, soil erosion, a continuum of racial capitalism in the exploitation of migrant workers from Portugal’s historic colonies and a sundering of more-than-humans from their loci.
Soil provides an archive of these activities, holding occurrences such as the chemicals of fertilisation, herbicides, the concurrent pH changes and compression under tire wheels sedimented in its body. This continuum of soil-based extraction is recorded both visually and through sound with local bird song, the lyrics of Alentejan choral groups and the resonances produced by the soil itself reflecting the degradation of the landscape percolating under the Empire, Salazar’s Estado Novo and recent impositions since the opening of the Alqueva Dam in 2002. This aural dimension can also perhaps become a place of resistance, expanding the local history of singing as intervention to the fascist regime to include more-than-human vibrations as a method for recording and unearthing the current asymmetrical land-use system.
The soils of Alentejo have long borne the weight of colonial extractivism. Plantations of genetically-homogenised wheat under the Estado Novo have transitioned into super-intense olive groves that intend to maximise immediate production and mine EU subsidy structures. The result is widespread desertification, soil erosion, a continuum of racial capitalism in the exploitation of migrant workers from Portugal’s historic colonies and a sundering of more-than-humans from their loci.
Soil provides an archive of these activities, holding occurrences such as the chemicals of fertilisation, herbicides, the concurrent pH changes and compression under tire wheels sedimented in its body. This continuum of soil-based extraction is recorded both visually and through sound with local bird song, the lyrics of Alentejan choral groups and the resonances produced by the soil itself reflecting the degradation of the landscape percolating under the Empire, Salazar’s Estado Novo and recent impositions since the opening of the Alqueva Dam in 2002. This aural dimension can also perhaps become a place of resistance, expanding the local history of singing as intervention to the fascist regime to include more-than-human vibrations as a method for recording and unearthing the current asymmetrical land-use system.
Extractive Bodies
Soil erosion and desertification across Portugal is permeating yet uneven. It pulsates with greatest ferocity in Alentejo, around the banks of the Alqueva Dam that enfolds the town of Pias. The dam was constructed to sustain the rows of genetically engineered olive bushes that lie on soil exposed by herbicides and constant tilling. The bareness reduces competition with the tree and increases the grid’s clarity for GIS satellites calculating EU subsidies. The whole olive tree is transformed into a profit-making apparatus. As even the pulpy by-product of olive oil manufacture – bagasse – is burned as fuel, covering the edges of Pias in toxic smoke. This degradation is evident in local song, with lyrics of Pias’ choral groups describing the sickened land.
Soil erosion and desertification across Portugal is permeating yet uneven. It pulsates with greatest ferocity in Alentejo, around the banks of the Alqueva Dam that enfolds the town of Pias. The dam was constructed to sustain the rows of genetically engineered olive bushes that lie on soil exposed by herbicides and constant tilling. The bareness reduces competition with the tree and increases the grid’s clarity for GIS satellites calculating EU subsidies. The whole olive tree is transformed into a profit-making apparatus. As even the pulpy by-product of olive oil manufacture – bagasse – is burned as fuel, covering the edges of Pias in toxic smoke. This degradation is evident in local song, with lyrics of Pias’ choral groups describing the sickened land.
Alentejo, Alentejo, Os Camponeses de Pias, 2003
‘‘The great drought never stops!
The sun is shivering above us!
Does not heat, does not burn!
Does not give heat, the sun!
The sun is a scar that draws blood over our heads.
From our throat only the song comes out,
Because singing is like air,
It is not seen, it expands.
Screams don’t come out of our throat.
Smooth talkers, we don’t have it!
Softened voices, neither!
We have dry throats, dry bodies.
The dry souls of water, of pure water.
Only the song that rises, without knowing how,
For no reason, for no apparent reason to sing,
From our hearts.’’
Written one year after the opening of the Alqueva Dam
‘‘The great drought never stops!
The sun is shivering above us!
Does not heat, does not burn!
Does not give heat, the sun!
The sun is a scar that draws blood over our heads.
From our throat only the song comes out,
Because singing is like air,
It is not seen, it expands.
Screams don’t come out of our throat.
Smooth talkers, we don’t have it!
Softened voices, neither!
We have dry throats, dry bodies.
The dry souls of water, of pure water.
Only the song that rises, without knowing how,
For no reason, for no apparent reason to sing,
From our hearts.’’
Written one year after the opening of the Alqueva Dam
A Colonial Cosmology
Initiated in 1928, the processes of turning Alentejo into ‘the breadbasket of the nation’ by Salazar and the Estado Novo brought Portugal’s historic colonies, now rebranded as overseas territories, in greater propinquity with the so-called national soil – dissolving in its landscape pyrite fertiliser from Angola and additional labour from Mozambique. Wheat monoculture in fact relied upon a greater constellation of totalitarian extraction, borrowing modified wheat strands from fascist Italy, fertiliser technology from the German Reich and irrigation from Francoist Spain. This web continues to percolate through Alentejo’s olive groves now owned, fertilised and irrigated by the latent infrastructures and literal ancestors of the dictatorship.
Initiated in 1928, the processes of turning Alentejo into ‘the breadbasket of the nation’ by Salazar and the Estado Novo brought Portugal’s historic colonies, now rebranded as overseas territories, in greater propinquity with the so-called national soil – dissolving in its landscape pyrite fertiliser from Angola and additional labour from Mozambique. Wheat monoculture in fact relied upon a greater constellation of totalitarian extraction, borrowing modified wheat strands from fascist Italy, fertiliser technology from the German Reich and irrigation from Francoist Spain. This web continues to percolate through Alentejo’s olive groves now owned, fertilised and irrigated by the latent infrastructures and literal ancestors of the dictatorship.
Layered Anatomies
The extractive cosmology has become embodied in the landscape of Pias. Indicated by both field tests and remote sensing, the soils are greatly acidified due to over-fertilisation. Microbiota such as earthworms, key to the maintenance of soil structure and health, can only survive in a few islands of neutral soil - mapped along with soil pH, irrigation networks and important sites and routes of local choral groups.
Sound is also a live means of empirically measuring this degrading landscape. Seismic soil recordings taken on the site display an almost silence in the monoculture fields and a contrary polyphony of activity in areas of neutral pH, where one can discern the crunching of mites, pressing of earthworms and growth of roots.
The extractive cosmology has become embodied in the landscape of Pias. Indicated by both field tests and remote sensing, the soils are greatly acidified due to over-fertilisation. Microbiota such as earthworms, key to the maintenance of soil structure and health, can only survive in a few islands of neutral soil - mapped along with soil pH, irrigation networks and important sites and routes of local choral groups.
Sound is also a live means of empirically measuring this degrading landscape. Seismic soil recordings taken on the site display an almost silence in the monoculture fields and a contrary polyphony of activity in areas of neutral pH, where one can discern the crunching of mites, pressing of earthworms and growth of roots.
Singing as Intervention
A counterpoint to the asymmetry of the olive plantation can perhaps be found in the subdued rhythm of the Montado ecosystem, a sparse heath of olives and polyphonous planting sundered by the wheat campaign. This ecology bound soil and people, forming the crux of nutrient cycles and local gastronomy. It was also deeply entwined with local music, as regional singing – called Cante Alentejano - was performed while harvesting the fields. Its lyrics reflected a more-than-human mutuality but also came to embody anti-fascist resistance, with a Cante song forming the initiating radio signal of the 1974 revolution. Perhaps sound can again begin to unearth the monotony of the plantation, opening up its compressed pores such that we can listen to the soil and care for it.
A counterpoint to the asymmetry of the olive plantation can perhaps be found in the subdued rhythm of the Montado ecosystem, a sparse heath of olives and polyphonous planting sundered by the wheat campaign. This ecology bound soil and people, forming the crux of nutrient cycles and local gastronomy. It was also deeply entwined with local music, as regional singing – called Cante Alentejano - was performed while harvesting the fields. Its lyrics reflected a more-than-human mutuality but also came to embody anti-fascist resistance, with a Cante song forming the initiating radio signal of the 1974 revolution. Perhaps sound can again begin to unearth the monotony of the plantation, opening up its compressed pores such that we can listen to the soil and care for it.
Unearthing Resonances
The inhabitants of the soil not only produce sound but respond to it. Notably earthworms are attracted by the vibrations of a notched pole that mimics the fall of rain. These resonances can perhaps be utilised to channel worms into the areas of degraded soil, allowing them to burrow and break up the plough pan, while enriching the horizons with their casts.
This process of earthworms exerting resistance against the compressed soils was tested in a wormery over the course of two months, with 25 earthworms able to easily break through strata of compressed soil, formed to mirror the conditions present in Alentejo.
The inhabitants of the soil not only produce sound but respond to it. Notably earthworms are attracted by the vibrations of a notched pole that mimics the fall of rain. These resonances can perhaps be utilised to channel worms into the areas of degraded soil, allowing them to burrow and break up the plough pan, while enriching the horizons with their casts.
This process of earthworms exerting resistance against the compressed soils was tested in a wormery over the course of two months, with 25 earthworms able to easily break through strata of compressed soil, formed to mirror the conditions present in Alentejo.
Wormery
The process of earthworms exerting resistance against the compressed soils was tested in a wormery over the course of two months, with 25 earthworms able to easily break through strata of compressed soil, formed to mirror the conditions present in Alentejo.
The process of earthworms exerting resistance against the compressed soils was tested in a wormery over the course of two months, with 25 earthworms able to easily break through strata of compressed soil, formed to mirror the conditions present in Alentejo.
Sonic Dome
The potency of earthworm-attracting reverberations can be heightened in certain geometries. A catenary dome focuses the sound into a single point, intensifying soil vibrations, allowing worms to sense these distinct pulsations from hundreds instead of tens of metres away. A 9m diameter, 11m tall dome forms the optimum shape for this sonic interplay.
Its temporality is aligned with that of the local seasons with the forming and drying of its earth wall blocks in the hot summers, before being assembled in time for the rainy autumn and the sonic inhabitation in the winter, where earthworm action is at its greatest in cool, moist soils.
The potency of earthworm-attracting reverberations can be heightened in certain geometries. A catenary dome focuses the sound into a single point, intensifying soil vibrations, allowing worms to sense these distinct pulsations from hundreds instead of tens of metres away. A 9m diameter, 11m tall dome forms the optimum shape for this sonic interplay.
Its temporality is aligned with that of the local seasons with the forming and drying of its earth wall blocks in the hot summers, before being assembled in time for the rainy autumn and the sonic inhabitation in the winter, where earthworm action is at its greatest in cool, moist soils.
Temporal Construction
The dome is formed of earth blocks that extend the local vernacular adobe construction, utilising the existing skill-base and brickworks. The earth bricks are reinforced with olive pulp fibres, traditionally used as fertiliser; thus increasing tensility and expediting the return of the modules back into functioning soil once the dome is deconstructed.
These walls are clad in bricks of lime and hemp, grown as crop cover in the landscape. This exterior insulates the dome from the high summer and spring temperatures and also weathers in the autumn and winter rain, leaching calcium carbonate into the soil to neutralise the acidic fertilisers and provide a healthier site for worm movement.
The dome is formed of earth blocks that extend the local vernacular adobe construction, utilising the existing skill-base and brickworks. The earth bricks are reinforced with olive pulp fibres, traditionally used as fertiliser; thus increasing tensility and expediting the return of the modules back into functioning soil once the dome is deconstructed.
These walls are clad in bricks of lime and hemp, grown as crop cover in the landscape. This exterior insulates the dome from the high summer and spring temperatures and also weathers in the autumn and winter rain, leaching calcium carbonate into the soil to neutralise the acidic fertilisers and provide a healthier site for worm movement.
An Infrastructure for Commoning
The construction of the sonic domes becomes entangled within the creation of a wider commoning infrastructure for Pias, with its blocks, in chorus with locally sourced timber and canvas, forming spaces for agricultural industry, ecological reverberation and singing as intervention. They are stitched together yearly by the Pias Mostra, a long-standing festival that celebrates regional singing, gastronomy and theatre. This infrastructure forms a shaded canopy for the local tavern where choral groups practice, a re-tuning of the long-abeyant olive mill, a shaded pool to treat olive oil effluent, a stage for theatre and singing performances, the adjustment of the existing brickworks to produce earth blocks and a tower that measures climate data and soil soundings.
The sonic infrastructure creates conditions for microbiota activity and soil metabolism through its fabrication and eventual return to the earth.
The construction of the sonic domes becomes entangled within the creation of a wider commoning infrastructure for Pias, with its blocks, in chorus with locally sourced timber and canvas, forming spaces for agricultural industry, ecological reverberation and singing as intervention. They are stitched together yearly by the Pias Mostra, a long-standing festival that celebrates regional singing, gastronomy and theatre. This infrastructure forms a shaded canopy for the local tavern where choral groups practice, a re-tuning of the long-abeyant olive mill, a shaded pool to treat olive oil effluent, a stage for theatre and singing performances, the adjustment of the existing brickworks to produce earth blocks and a tower that measures climate data and soil soundings.
The sonic infrastructure creates conditions for microbiota activity and soil metabolism through its fabrication and eventual return to the earth.
Collaborators and Credits
Margarida Waco, Imani Jacqueline Brown and Meriem Chabani, and Kirsty MacLeod
Margarida Waco, Imani Jacqueline Brown and Meriem Chabani, and Kirsty MacLeod
Awards
Drawing Prize, 2024 - Royal Society of Artists, Birmingham - June 2023
Third Winner, Best Architecture Drawing, 2023 - RIBAJ Eyeline Drawing Prize - Royal Institute of British Architects - June 2023
Publications
Title - Margarida N. Waco - Fertile Futures Volume I, Ed. Andreia Garcia Ana Neiva Diogo Aguiar - Architectural Affairs - 2023
Exhibitions
Drawing Prize, 2024 - Royal Society of Artists, Birmingham - June 2023
Third Winner, Best Architecture Drawing, 2023 - RIBAJ Eyeline Drawing Prize - Royal Institute of British Architects - June 2023
Publications
Title - Margarida N. Waco - Fertile Futures Volume I, Ed. Andreia Garcia Ana Neiva Diogo Aguiar - Architectural Affairs - 2023
Exhibitions