Installations
From the 8th of September to the 24th of November, Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana presented a comprehensive programme featuring installations, archives and performances by the participants of the edition.
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Essaim [Swarm]
- TypeInstallation
- ParticipantFélix Blume
- VenueLa Porxada
![Essaim [Swarm], 2021-2024 © Félix Blume. Photo © Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana _ Cecília Coca.jpg](/media/m15-bucket.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/xlarge_Essaim_Swarm_2021_2024_Felix_Blume_Photo_Manifesta_15_Barcelona_Metropolitana_Cecilia_Coca_baa6226747.jpg)
Essaim [Swarm], 2021-2024 © Félix Blume. Photo © Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana / Cecília Coca
Swarm is a sound installation comprised of 500 speakers, each of which reproduces the sound of a buzzing bee, originally recorded while it was pollinating. The French artist Félix Blume created the installation so that visitors could experience the chorus of the bees while feeling themselves part of a swarm. The installation is presented in La Porxada (the porch) in Granollers, which was built in the late 1500s and hosts a fresh market on Thursdays. Against this backdrop, the work focuses attention on the vital role that bees play in the ecosystem, and thus in sustaining the operations of the centuries-old market. Bees and other pollinators have increasingly been under threat due to pollution, intensive farming and climate change. Drastic measures must be taken to protect their population from declining.
During the Spanish Civil War, La Porxada was partially destroyed, a casualty of the air raids that were conducted by forces loyal to Franco, which killed hundreds of innocent civilians. Since the bees’ buzzing resembles the sound of airplanes, the installation also brings a sonic memory of the devastating raids.
![Essaim [Swarm], 2021-2024 © Félix Blume. Photo © Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana _ Cecília Coca .jpg]()
Essaim [Swarm], 2021-2024 © Félix Blume. Photo © Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana / Cecília Coca![Essaim [Swarm], 2021-2024 © Félix Blume. Photo © Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana _ Cecília Coca. .jpg]()
Essaim [Swarm], 2021-2024 © Félix Blume. Photo © Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana / Cecília Coca
![Essaim [Swarm], 2021-2024 © Félix Blume. Photo © Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana _ Cecília Coca .jpg](/media/m15-bucket.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/xlarge_Essaim_Swarm_2021_2024_Felix_Blume_Photo_Manifesta_15_Barcelona_Metropolitana_Cecilia_Coca_a425552ffd.jpg)
![Essaim [Swarm], 2021-2024 © Félix Blume. Photo © Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana _ Cecília Coca. .jpg](/media/m15-bucket.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/xlarge_Essaim_Swarm_2021_2024_Felix_Blume_Photo_Manifesta_15_Barcelona_Metropolitana_Cecilia_Coca_1e0ec91efc.jpg)
2021-2024
Sound installation
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist
Adaptation of existing work specifically for Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana. Originally produced by DDA Contemporary Art in co-production with M2F Creations and the support of DICREAM (CNC)
Supported by Trampoline Association
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