Lola de la Mata – TAC(I)ET, an implied silence Installation (Broadcast Studio, Wednesday to Friday + performance on Saturday in the Harty Room)

Fielding through cymatics, photography and tinnitus, Lola de la Mata presents works as artefacts of the invisible. Each photogram captures glass prototype instruments and metal tools used in the creation of the conceptual album ‘Oceans on Azimuth’.

Emerging from the depths of the cochlea, the prints draw on reveries of a submerged world. Here, the sculptural forms are reminiscent of bone, membrane or tissue found in the middle and inner ear.

Standing in the space is Lola’s Tacit Harp. A custom acoustic metal rod instrument developed in collaboration with percussion maker Matt Nolan. Its unique scale was selected from recordings made at the Hudspeth Laboratory of Sensory Neuroscience, Rockefeller University NY, of Lola’s spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs), which she experiences as tinnitus. These recordings won a Sound of the Year award in 2023.

TAC(I)ET is a tactile surround experience vibrating air, which encourages the ears in attendance to play additional tones, forming a uniquely un/over-heard composition.