Meditation #3:
Sofia Lemos + Ece Canli

7.8Hz Meditations
Curated by Mariana Pestana

Three guided meditations, comprising a reading and a live concert created by contemporary thinkers and composers, use different methodologies — reorientation and positioning of the body, reason and imagination — in an attempt to lead us towards an awareness of ecological interdependence. Created in the wake of the emotional crisis caused by the social isolation during the global pandemic of 2020–21, this public programme functions like a philosophical expedition in the aftermath of the growing societal symptoms of disorientation, anxiety and doubt derived from the global environmental crisis, exploring modes of thinking, questioning and imagining about this and other possible realities.

The division of light between day and night caused by the rotation and translation of the Earth is perhaps the most literally cosmic experience we have access to on a daily basis. Created to accompany Carsten Höller’s DIA exhibition (maat, 05/10/2021–28/02/2022), the 7.8Hz Meditations programme is based on the 7.8 Hz frequency, a unit of measure that also converges celestial and terrestrial phenomena. 7.8 Hz is the Earth’s electromagnetic resonance, produced by discharges of energy such as lightning and thunder between the surface of the planet and the ionosphere. Interestingly, 7.8 Hz is also the frequency of the human brain when in a state of almost meditative relaxation, between consciousness and unconsciousness, and can be induced by exposure to light sequences (as in Carsten Höller’s work). Starting from this frequency, the programme offers the public a series of text and sound therapeutic compositions to reflect on terrestrial coexistence and explore other ways of seeing and thinking about the extreme present we currently live in.

The three meditations will be released on an LP coproduced by maat and the record label Holuzam in May 2022 for people to listen at home.

Meditation #1 
Michael Marder + Maxwell Sterling 
05/02/2022
19.00–20.00 
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Meditation #2
Federico Campagna + Joana Gama e Luís Fernandes 
12/02/2022
19.00–20.00
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Meditation #3
Sofia Lemos + Ece Canli 
19/02/2022
19.00–20.00

Mariana Pestana works and lives in Lisbon. She is an architect, curator and researcher in the field of contemporary design and architecture. Her work materializes in cultural programmes that take the form of exhibitions, events, conferences, installations and publications. She is co-founder and director of The Decorators, an interdisciplinary studio that creates collaborative projects ranging from furniture to buildings in the aim of expanding notions of place, community and commensality (the practice of eating together). Mariana Pestana was the curator of the 5th Istanbul Design Biennial, titled Empathy Revisited: designs for more than one (2020–21), prior to which she curated several exhibitions including Eco-Visionaries, (maat, Lisbon, Matadero, Madrid, and The Royal Academy of Arts, London) and The Future Starts Here (V&A, 2018). She worked as a curator in the Department of Architecture, Design and Digital at the Victoria and Albert Museum (2015–19) Having lectured at Central Saint Martins (2011–14) and Chelsea College of Arts (2012–16), among other universities, and currently is an Invited Assistant Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon.