soundwalk
Wednesday, 27 Aug, at 19:00 (premiere)
Thursday, 28 Aug, at 19:00
Meeting point: Funicular Railway to Ljubljana Castle
A sonic journey along the path of a weather balloon, from lift to rupture.
The artist takes a weather balloon as the starting point for her research and sonic journey. Used worldwide for meteorological measurements and weather forecasting, over 800 weather balloons are released daily. They rise through the atmosphere, exposed to changing air pressure, temperature, density and wind.
Our atmospheric imaginary journey begins at the entrance to the Ljubljana Castle funicular, which will carry us up to the castle. Once we reach a certain height, we will travel even further – following the tension and transformation of the balloon as it stretches to its breaking point: the sudden burst and fall. Afterwards, we will return by funicular to the foot of the castle hill.
The 40-minute sound composition combines recordings from meteorological instruments, field and studio sessions, interviews with experts and the tracking of the balloon’s path by an observer who descends, follows and collects data. We will follow the metaphorical journey of release, lifting, stretching, bursting, falling and landing. The sonic experience is guided by the artist’s voice, which explores moments of change, transformation, direction, speed, temperature, humidity, wind and more.
The layered soundscape shifts between the dreamlike and the scientific, offering intimate, physical, auditory and tactile stimuli that create a rich, multisensory experience.
Neža Knez explores hybrid formats that blend discursive and poetic approaches to artistic practice, considering them inseparable from daily life. Her work investigates the relationships and interactions within forms such as moving images, sound, language and mixed media installations. She focuses on subtle, often invisible and fragile processes within media and material.
The soundwalk Following was produced in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy and the Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO). Thanks to: Andrej Vuga, Blaž Šter, Filip Stucin, and Ivana Furać, Vjeran Magjarević from the Croation Meteorological and Hydrological Service.
The soundwalk Following was produced by the Cona institute in 2025. The author was selected through the Call for New Sound Walks by the TO)pot festival in 2024.
