Seedlings for Justices

Ana Bravo Pérez

Beelden op de Berg #12 — Belmonte Arboretum, Netherlands, 2024

Sound design, audio editing, mixing, mastering & sound system development — Juan Orozco

Seedlings for Justices / Seedlings & Our Ancestors is a project by Ana Bravo Pérez, presented as part of Beelden op de Berg #12: Heksenkruid — Decolonizing Botany, curated by Mirjam Westen at the Belmonte Arboretum in the Netherlands.

Developed around one of the arboretum's oldest trees, the installation explored relationships between botanical knowledge, ancestral memory and environmental justice. Through a feminist and decolonial perspective, the work sought to reconnect the Platanus hispanicus with its ancestors in Abya Yala, acknowledging the agency and sacred significance of trees and the importance of Indigenous knowledge.

The project also brought together Indigenous leaders Taita Hernando Chindoy and Cristina Rodríguez, performer Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti and other collaborators in a collective exchange around the languages of plants, water and land, opening a space for reflection on epistemological and environmental justice.

Juan Orozco developed the sound design for the installation, working with a collection of field recordings and audio materials gathered from different sources. His work involved the conceptual development of the sonic environment, the selection and editing of recordings, and the mixing and mastering of the final audio material.

In parallel, he developed a site-specific sound reproduction system based on the activation of physical materials as resonating surfaces. The audio chain was developed in collaboration with Manecolabs, who contributed to the playback devices, and Heiko Engelage, who worked on the milling of the resonating surfaces.

Rather than relying exclusively on conventional loudspeakers, the system explored how sound could emerge from the materials themselves, integrating the sonic experience into the installation and its surrounding landscape. The approach also considered localized listening areas, inviting visitors to move through the space and engage with different degrees of proximity and attention.

Conceived for an outdoor environment, the work required particular attention to weather protection, sound propagation and the discreet integration of technical devices into the landscape. Sound was approached not as an illustrative element, but as an active part of the installation's perceptual and spatial experience.

Credits

Artistic concept and installation
Ana Bravo Pérez

Sound design, audio editing, mixing & mastering
Juan Orozco

Sound system concept & development
Juan Orozco

Audio playback devices
Developed in collaboration with Manecolabs

Resonating surfaces — milling
Heiko Engelage

Project collaborators
Joram Kraaijeveld, Camila Domínguez

Collective activation and exchange
Taita Hernando Chindoy, Cristina Rodríguez, Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti

Exhibition
Beelden op de Berg #12 — Heksenkruid: Decolonizing Botany

Curator
Mirjam Westen

Location
Belmonte Arboretum, Netherlands

Year
2024