PARTICLE MATTER by Itziar Barrio in collaboration with Seth Cluett
PARTICLE MATTER is a multi-channel video and sound installation by Itziar Barrio in collaboration with sound artist Seth Cluett
DATE & TIME: September 20 to October 26, 2025. Open to the public: 11 am to 5 pm on Sat and Sun. Opening: Saturday September 20, 2025 from 3 – 5 pm.
There will be a live Performance October 25, 2025
LOCATION: Harvestworks Art and Technology Program. Building 10a, Nolan Park, Governors Island. New York City, USA.
Particle Matter is a materialist inquiry into manifestations of the micro by Itziar Barrio in collaboration with composer sound designer Seth Cluett. The film incorporates images of dust, smoke, and various geological events, as well as audio recordings from the historic anechoic chamber at Nokia Bell Labs which is considered one of the quietest places on Earth. Particle Matter highlights the interactions between seemingly distant or opposing forces. A new 2 channel moving image and 4 channel sound version will premiere at this exhibition and its live version will be performed on October 25, 2025.
Particle Matter approaches its subject in a rhizomatic fashion, utilizing the language of the montage–the dialectical technique of producing a new composite whole from fragments of moving images and sounds–to explore the forces catalyzing and created by the movements of the fragmented and microscopic; the pieces left over.
Many of the sound recordings included in Particle Matter were carried out at the historic anechoic chamber at Nokia Bell Labs (NJ), which absorbs over 99.995% of the incident acoustic energy above 200 Hz. Barrio and Cluett approach Particle Matter from the horizontal convergence of all the agents involved: images of geological phenomena, steam, gas, and particles; audio recordings of protests, dust of different origins. The live performance version expands on the original audiovisual work to feature live sound and image. Recordings from current protests as well as audio footage recorded in the anechoic chamber at Nokia Bell Labs will complement content from the original film.
This work was produced by AECID and supported in part by Nokia Bell Labs Experiments in Art and Technology program.