Dobra voda
Manja Ristić and Aleksandar Lazar
Tuesday 21 November
19:00–20:45
Dobra voda is a magical bay on the island of Silba known for the artistic commune that gathered pioneers of the alternative culture of the former Yugoslavia in the late 70s and early 80s. The audio- visual composition of the same name by Manja Ristić and Aleksandar Lazar is based on 16 underwater recordings from that location. The foundations of the new avant-garde were created in the ambience of this hidden paradise island, and 40 years later, the artists explore the sonic morphology of the environment through aleatory gestures, sound interventions and extended listening techniques.
Dobra voda is an immersive ambient installation that combines a mix of hydrophone recordings with cymatics experiments, using sound waves to create captivating visuals with salt crystals. Underwater recordings, as well as recordings made by burying microphones in dry deposits of Posidonia Oceanica (an extremely important oxygen producer whose efficiency of processing carbon dioxide per square meter exceeds the efficiency of the Amazon rain forest’s), penetrate deep into the sound simulacrum of endemic biodiversity. Micro-movement, salinity, geomorphological records are thoroughly observed and further manifested through cymatic shapes generated by treating a Tonoscope (cymatic plate) with sound waves, which form multidimensional visual patterns. Reduced cymatics opens a new psycho-sensory field and reveals the intrinsic nature of sound.
About the authors
Manja Ristić and Aleksandar Lazar have been collaborating since 2019. Some of the selected works and performances they have produced together include: Anatomy of Chaos (2019), Flamingo Falling (2020), Shells left behind (2020), the exhibition “Načulji oči, protrljaj uši” (2020), and audio-visual installations Patient Love (2021) and *Dobra voda (2022). They have received the Golden Award by The Association of Fine Artists of Serbia (ULUS) for the extended media for the work Patient Love.*
