A black wall at the center of the gallery, as if covered by a dark veil, welcomes the audience into a magnetic void. It is a ground zero, a space to be filled by the perceptions of each individual. In this environment, the few objects on display offer different sensory experiences. There are four modular synthesizers arranged on the floor, each connected to a speaker raised high above: symbiotic bodies that, respectively, produce and emit a continuous sound. However, they will only allow these audios to surface if a body comes near. In dialogue with these pieces, there is a 35mm photograph that bears the only visible image in this exhibition. Although the photographed scene is apparently banal, there is an enigma within it that preserves the emotional gravity of the moment portrayed. Thus, the photo performs the same gesture of the sound installations: it reveals its inner frequencies only to those willing to approach its mystery.

Entitled “Últimos sons”, this first solo exhibition of João Pimenta Gomes at Galeria Vera Cortês brings, through these specific incisions, the core of his research about the possible interactions—both physical and subjective—between body, sound, and space. In this sense, the artist combines concepts and sensory exercises, orchestrating analog and digital instruments to create environmental experiences and generate undefined, abstract, non-linear narratives. His works test our sensorial faculties, but above all our ability to process the world around us.

The four sources of sound located in the space embody a duality that contrasts the technological apparatus of their productive bases and the synthetic and economic forms of their communicative top. Whereas the synths make their internal mechanisms visible, with the chaotic aesthetic of cables and apparent connections, the customized speakers resemble mouth cavities singing through sharp teeth, in a manifestation resembling magic or an unknown technology. Their peculiar anatomy gives them the appearance of entities from the realm of science fiction. These big mouths remain covered until a presence invokes their reaction. However, when we get close they do not devour us, but instead allow us to hear the sounds that they produce.

They break their vow of silence and begin to whisper in our ears, emitting something between the guttural, the archaic, and the notes of advanced technology. Their sounds invite contemplative meditation, but also awaken nostalgia and melancholy. Like a new liturgy, these tunes are requiems mourning the loss of the seconds that pass while we listen to them. They are meta-music about our own perception of space-time.

This procedure brings to mind a famous quote—with versions attributed to both Mozart and Debussy— about the essence of music not being in the notes but in the silence between them. Later, this same idea was epitomized by Miles Davis as: “It's not the notes you play, it's the notes you don't play.” Therefore, there is a clear reference to investigations into negative space in music, especially the legacy of John Cage and his 4’33”, the theories and practices of deep listening, and the core of ambient music. The composition with eternal loops, for example, reminds William Basinski's emblematic pieces.

Finally, there is the definitive influence of spiritual jazz, a genre covering a wide spectrum of productions that combine exploratory aspects of jazz with Eastern esoteric traditions and themes related to spiritual transcendence.

Germano Dushá

Links:

https://www.artecapital.net/exposicao-812-joao-pimenta-gomes-ultimos-sons

https://contemporanea.pt/edicoes/2024/joao-pimenta-gomes-ultimos-sons