Participation in the MONTE residency programme in Colonia Benítez marks a significant step in Paulius Sliaupa’s ongoing exploration of landscape as a sensory and acoustic field. Established in 2019 within the Los Chaguares nature reserve, MONTE is a recognized residency within the Pro Helvetia network, uniquely positioned at the intersection of art, ecology, and local community. Its focus on sound, listening, and environmental awareness offers an essential framework for developing new artistic methodologies.
During the residency, guided by sound artist Juan Sorrentino and curator Camila Pose, Sliaupa will expand his research into soundscape creation within video installations. His practice, which investigates the relationship between human perception and evolving environments, will be enriched through direct engagement with the acoustic ecology of the Chaco forest. The residency’s emphasis on landscape as a “space for listening” resonates deeply with his long-term interest in sound phenomenology and sensory experience.
The three-week research and production period in the forest will involve field recordings, experimentation with sound technologies, and the development of a site-responsive sound installation. This will culminate in an open studio presentation for the local community. A subsequent week in Buenos Aires will focus on professional exchange and the public presentation of newly developed work, fostering connections with South American artists, curators, and institutions.
On April 22nd he will present the project developed during the MONTE residency at Fundación Andreani, Buenos Aires. The presented work is a video installation which emerges from direct observation and immersion, unfolding as a nocturnal exploration of the Monte forest shaped by sound, memory, and presence. A song accompanies the work, carrying a text by the artist that reflects on the quiet rhythms of daily life during the residency. Its soundscape is composed entirely of field recordings gathered during night walks—cicadas, birds, frogs, and other unseen inhabitants—forming a dense acoustic environment. As the camera moves through tangled vegetation, perception shifts in the darkness, where the forest reveals itself as a living, breathing entity in constant transformation.
Sliaupa’s participation also carries a personal dimension, as his research is intertwined with a broader narrative exploring migration and memory between Lithuania and Argentina. The residency will provide critical material for a future video installation, while strengthening international dialogue and expanding his artistic network. Supported by this grant, the MONTE residency will play a key role in advancing his interdisciplinary practice and deepening his engagement with sound, ecology, and place.
Project financed by Flanders State of the Art and Lithuanian Council for Culture
