Javier R. Pérez-Curiel’s proposal brings together sound art, sculpture and performative practice, establishing a dialogue between the public square at Libao (Arrieta) and the bell tower of the Church of San Martín Obispo.
The project unfolds through two interconnected elements. The first is an interactive freestanding sound sculpture installed in the square, consisting of a series of suspended metal tubes that invite tactile activation by visitors, transferring the vibrational qualities of the church bells into the urban environment. The second results from the artist’s collaboration with a master bell-ringer in analysing the timbre of the church’s four bronze bells. Based on this research, Pérez-Curiel has composed a score that rhythmically organises frequencies moving from low to high registers, and back again, through a digitally automated system that operates the bell tower’s electromechanical hammers. The bell composition is structured according to palindromic forms, in which the melodic sequence unfolds symmetrically and identically in both temporal directions, creating a musical mirror in which time itself appears to reverse.
The sculptural element extends conceptually upwards towards the bell tower, while the sound composition is activated each day at the tower clock's palindromic times (12:21 and 13:31). Unlike the bell tower, which sounds automatically according to the clock and its programmed schedule, the sculpture in the square depends upon the public's participation to "ring the bells", generating sonic responses that enter into dialogue with those of the church. Together, the two elements propose a conversation between two forms of time: the cyclical time of the tower and the lived time of human presence, where sound and the shared act of listening forge connections between architecture, community and landscape.
Javier R. Pérez-Curiel (Oviedo, 1978) is an artist, holds a PhD in Fine Arts, and is currently a student at the Dutch Art Institute (DAI, 2024–2026). His practice unfolds across installation, performance, and sound, working with materials, objects, and spaces shaped by pre-established uses and invisible instructions. Through the negotiation of the body with objects and spaces, he activates shifts that alter habitual forms of perception and interaction.
He has taken part in experimental programmes for contemporary artistic practice such as JAI – Institute for Artistic Practice (Tabakalera and Artium, Basque Country) and PEEPA (Matadero Madrid), as well as attending Roni Horn’s workshop at Fundación Botín (Santander). He has undertaken residencies at Bilbaoarte (Bilbao), FOIE (Almería), Art Omi (New York), KUB Kunsthaus Bregenz (Austria), and Tabakalera (San Sebastián). His work has been presented in venues such as Sala Rekalde (Bilbao), Montehermoso (Vitoria-Gasteiz), Tabakalera (San Sebastián), Can Felipa (Barcelona), La Taller (Bilbao), Filet Space (London), and the Proyector Festival (Madrid).
