Silence Does Not Exist

The Concert: Catalogue of the Swiss Pavilion, 59th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia 2022

Foreword by MADELEINE SCHUPPLI
With contributions by ALEXANDRE BABEL, FRANÇOIS J. BONNET, RAPHAËL BRUNNER, ANTOINE CHESSEX, ALVIN CURRAN, LATIFA ECHAKHCH, MAXIME GUITTON, EMANUELE QUINZ, JONATHAN STERNE, FRANCESCO STOCCHI, SALOMÉ VOEGELIN, JULIETTE VOLCLER

A lifelong relation to sound and music underlies Latifa Echakhch’s work. On the occasion of her representation of the Swiss Pavilion for the 59th Venice Biennale, she has edited a volume on sound, memory, and perception. In the book, images of her installation in the Swiss Pavilion, The Concert, accompany writings by the artist and by Alexandre Babel and Francesco Stocchi, the co-curators of the pavilion. The volume also includes interviews with and collected texts by François J. Bonnet, Emanuele Quinz, Maxime Guitton, Alvin Curran, Salomé Voegelin, Antoine Chessex, Jonathan Sterne, Juliette Volcler, and Raphaël Brunner. Confronting knowledge, reflection, and intuition, their combined concert of thoughts confirms how sound and music—and their absence—play a crucial role in our physical and cultural perception of the world, and how they allow us to expand our bodily and cognitive experience.

This book is one of the three parts of the Swiss Pavilion; the other two are the installation and a vinyl edition of the piece composed by Alexandre Babel.