Luís Neto
I invite everyone to wander endlessly in our shoes and inside our ears

Interview with curator Anne-Laure Chamboissier on the occasion of the group exhibition Encounter in resonance.

ALC: What was your background before joining EPAS? Was sound practice something you were used to before? What has this postgraduate program brought to the development of your artistic work?

LN: I'm a musician and composer with a BA in music production and sound engineering. Sound has always been a nuclear component in my practice, though mostly through the lens of a musician. EPAS allowed me to confront myself with my aspirations and limitations as an artist and performer, and provided a platform to explore them in a nurturing environment while surrounded with several like-minded artists from other areas.

ALC: As you know, this exhibition is focused on the question of listening. What is your personal definition of listening?

LN: That's a really hard question. The more I delve into this type of idea, the more I understand that listening, just like any other sensorial system my body uses, is always affected by a myriad of factors and is absolutely everchanging. Depending on the purpose of my listening and my mental state, it can be extremely technical, with the intention to dissect sounds theoretically and practically, or it can be a vehicle for seeking comfort, resonance, novelty, or simply a meditative state. I definitely need both these poles as a listener, in order to function properly.

ALC: How did you compose your immersive piece Miramar III, Convoluted? Its sounds are those of four people walking along different paths in the building where you live. Why this place? And how did you establish these trajectories?

LN: Miramar III, Convoluted was composed in a rather arbitrary way. I chose my building as a sonic setting due to it being the place I stayed at the most, during the pandemic. No trajectory was clearly defined and every performer had absolute freedom to do as they pleased, with the simple instruction of looking for sound.

ALC: What kind of listening experience do you invite the audience to?

LN: I invite everyone to wander endlessly in our shoes and inside our ears.