Habitáculos lunáticos
Rosa García and Adrián Porcel, 2025.
23 b/w photographs, Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308 gsm, variable dimensions. Audio 1, 5 min 1 sec. Audio 2, 4 min 58 sec. Audio 3, 6 min 2 sec. Audio 4, 5 min 51 sec. Audio 5, 4 min 43 sec. Audio 6, 6 min 21 sec. Salt mound and text.
Photographs from the project.
Photographic sequence.
Photographs from the project.
Audio recordings.
Habitáculos lunáticos is a sound project that operates as a terminological explorer, from which it seeks to unravel the hidden folds of the notion of “lunatic”, whose etymological root refers to certain mental conditions that, in past times, were attributed to the influence of the moon’s cycles on the individual. The proposal reconfigures the term, granting it a new meaning as a demonym, in order to imagine the satellite as an impossible territory and, from that fiction, to project a dystopia that—despite its physical remoteness—shares the volatile and suffocating nature of our deoxygenated contemporary predicaments. At the same time, the materials gathered here constitute a speculative study of hypothetical lunar afflictions that would make life on the satellite body impossible, functioning as an analogy for the present: familiar yet strange mirages, even more distorted and diseased reflections of the conventionalities that structure our society. From this perceptual dislocation, the pieces that make up the publication configure a hallucinatory and synchronized scenario, which rehearses—through pareidolias—a desire for belonging to a place in perpetual motion, governed by unknown and eerie logics. The sound samples used in the creation of the work come entirely from the public-domain BBC Sound Effects Archive. This source, whose recordings were once used in the broadcaster’s radio productions, contributes connotations of decentralization, recycling, and adaptability—principles that invite us to reconsider new ways of being in the world, grounded in interdependence and mutual transformation.
#1: The audio begins with an orbital ascent that transports the listener to a remote environment through a complex network of spatial signals. Frequencies captured from the exterior blend with transmissions from the Sputnik satellite, echoes of lunar radars, and radio equipment interference, forming an acoustic landscape that evokes movement through a distant base or outpost. The sonic progression that unfolds is linked to the transition from an entry point to a stratospheric exit, where the interruption of information generates a sense of detachment from the recognizable.
#2: This piece raises a submerged horizon over which a sonic mesh of breathing unfolds. The hyperventilations eventually merge with the sound of ocean waves, establishing a play of suffocation and gasps that modulate the breathing rhythm of a diver. The atmosphere introduces the presence of a Geiger counter, whose alert warns of environmental danger and urges the listener to keep their distance. This suspicion is confirmed at the end of the audio, when an artificial breath becomes isolated from the previous ensemble, revealing—through the glitch—the mutation resulting from exposure to an alien system governed by unknown logics.
#3: The composition recreates an underground space where echoes expand unpredictably, blurring spatial references and generating an acoustic labyrinth of indeterminate dimensions. The cave’s collapse gives way to a rain of rock fragments that masks the calls of seals, animals traditionally associated with the mythical figure of the mermaid. The recording guides the listener beyond the perceptual limits of the cavity, suggesting toward the end of the audio the reconstruction of elements that were never exposed to light, descendants of a covered sky and the upper galleries of the burrow.
#4: Based on recordings of volcanic eruptions, a soundscape is created that evokes landing in an alien environment. The combination of signal interference, synthesized alerts, and textures generated by volcanic emissions mimics the crackling of a scorched machine fuselage. The layering of these elements conveys the fall of a device struggling within a dismissed and impossible atmosphere.
#5: In this piece, a dialogue is established between the communication systems of insects, such as moths and bees, and the mechanical processes of obsolete computers. The swarm of organisms is intervened by the network of computers, generating an interaction that forms a sonic tangle of electromechanical workers. As the audio progresses, an adaptive linguistic structure emerges, growing exponentially in fluency and synchrony. However, the rudiments of this system, although apparently coherent, raise questions about its true nature, oscillating between the organic and the artificial.
#6: The piece introduces a reflection on the relationship between light and presence. Illumination not only determines which elements capture the observer’s attention, but also defines and materializes their existence. The drastic change of state experienced by the exposed elements is suggested through the equally unstable condition of an audience witnessing it. Everything takes place within a room, where the enigma lies not in the nature of the change, but in the moment it occurs, thereby emphasizing the relevance of temporality in the construction of the experience.