Manja Ristić

Sonic Ontology of Negligence

Publication

The text was developed during the conceptualisation of the project Ontology of Negligence, in which the artist engages with spaces marked by corruption, consumerism, and socio-political upheavals. These sites, ranging from abandoned quarries to contemporary megastructures, bear traces of excessive human exploitation.

The core of the compositional structure is situated in a post-construction megastructure area in Stožice, while sonic layers emerge from abandoned limestone quarries on the island of Korčula and from mines and caves in Fruška Gora. The text unfolds the mnemopoetic sonic traces of these landscapes, situating them within a broader reflection on negligence, materiality, and listening.

The text was developed during the conceptualisation of the project Ontology of Negligence, in which the artist engages with spaces marked by corruption, consumerism, and socio-political upheavals. These sites, ranging from abandoned quarries to contemporary megastructures, bear traces of excessive human exploitation.

The core of the compositional structure is situated in a post-construction megastructure area in Stožice, while sonic layers emerge from abandoned limestone quarries on the island of Korčula and from mines and caves in Fruška Gora. The text unfolds the mnemopoetic sonic traces of these landscapes, situating them within a broader reflection on negligence, materiality, and listening.

Manja Ristić

She graduated from the Belgrade Academy of Music and later completed a post-graduate diploma in Solo-Ensemble Recital at the Royal College of Music, London. Besides performing in the field of instrumental electroacoustic music, her sound-related research focuses on an interdisciplinary approach to sound art, field recordings, and experimental radio art.

Artist: Manja Ristić
Translation and copy-editing: Katja Kosi, Melita Silič
Publisher: Cona, Institute for Processing Contemporary Art, Ljubljana, 2021
Book series: Steklenik 2020/21 / 1
Print run: 200 copies

Venue: Steklenik, Gallery for Sound, Bioacoustics and Art, FM 88.8 MHz, 3rd Programme of Radio Slovenia – Ars
Co-production: Botanical Garden of the University of Ljubljana

The Cona programme is supported by the Municipality of Ljubljana, Department of Culture. The Steklenik project is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia. The exhibition and publication are part of the project Acoustic Commons, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.

Available in PDF format at publikacije.steklenik.si as of 1 January 2023.
© Cona 2021. All rights reserved.

YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN

4’33’’ in Bežigrad

The text reflects on the sound walk Zeleni atrij mesta and raises questions of cultural heritage, listening, and the relationship between architecture, history, and contemporary urban space.

Chronolith / Time in Stone, Science in Art

The texts accompany the Kronolit project and reflect on geological time, the materiality of stone, and relationships between science, art, and listening.

Steklenik: Sound works 2021/2022

The publication brings together sound works from four exhibitions of the Steklenik gallery and documents its fourth year of operation in the 2021/2022 season.

Exercises in Listenig to the Inaudible

The text questions relationships to place, sonic presence, and the politics of listening, exploring listening as an ecological, social, and artistic practice.

Living with the Subaquatic Through Dialogue, Accompaniment and Care in the Work of Robertina Šebjanič

The text accompanies the project Linija | +1233 m –1233 m and reflects on dialogue, companionship, and care in relation to underwater environments.

Footprints in a Desolate Landscape

The text accompanies the exhibition Stekleno nebo and reflects on devastated landscapes as outcomes of technological progress and eco-critical conditions of contemporary society.

Steklenik: Sound works 2020/2021

The publication brings together sound works from five exhibitions of the Steklenik gallery and documents its third year of operation in the 2020/2021 season.

In Search of a Multi_dimensional Life: Decolonization of Presence

Developed for the Sound Walk City · prelude festival, the text reflects on the sound walk as an artistic practice that foregrounds walking, listening, and the ethics of presence.

The Tree Spirits | Touch

The text accompanies the project The Tree Spirits | Touch and reflects on the sonic dimension of tree life and the relationships between individual organisms, communities, and environments.

ísland | fjórar – the crystal detector

The text accompanies the project ísland | fjórar – the crystal detector and explores the interweaving of sound, image, and text through Iceland’s material and geological processes.