NEWS As part of Luleåbiennalen 2024, students and teachers from the summer course Laponia, given at Umeå School of Architecture in 2023, are installing the work The Waterfall That Went Silent in Luleå’s city center. The installation will be inaugurated on Tuesday 9 April.
Bild av ljudinstallationen The waterfall went silent på Luleåbiennalen 2024 av lärare och studenter på Arkitekthögskolan
Image Jonas EltesLuleåbiennalen 2024: On the threshold of 1:1, inaugurated in the beginning of March with the overarching theme of Art & Architecture, presents exhibitions and site-specific artworks some of which unfold during the biennial.
The Waterfall That Went Silent is a spatial and physical sound installation presented by Umeå School of Architecture (UMA). Originally constructed during the summer course Laponia in 2023 at the Saltoloukta tourist station, the installation has been redesigned to be shown in Luleå's public spaces as part of the Luleåbiennalen 2024.
The installation serves as a reminder of the vanished roar of the Stora Sjöfallet waterfall, which disappeared along with vast reindeer herding lands due to Sweden's hydropower developments on the Lule River in the early 20th century. The installation invites reflection on the human pursuit of technological progress, the trade-offs between resources and energy against the natural and cultural environment, and the mounting pressure on Norrbotten's resources in the past, present, and future.
The installation is performatively built by its authors on Storgatan in Luleå between 5–8 april, 2024, with the intention of triggering discussions with and among bypassers. Luleåbiennalen, Umeå School of Architecture, and the project’s authors wish to extend a warm welcome to everyone to walk by, ask questions, or to just say hello.
The Waterfall That Went Silent will be inaugurated 9 April at 14.30 on Storgatan in Luleå.
Contacts:
Sophia Persson, Press & Communications, Luleåbiennalen
Toms Kokins, Umeå School of Architecture (UMA)