Emergency Frequencies

Emergency Frequencies

Eighty years ago, Budapest was rebuilt on ruins and unexploded ordnance after a devastating siege, one of the longest and bloodiest battles of WWII. Along with our buildings and streets, we have carried the wounds of war—both physical and psychological—for decades, passing our fears from generation to generation. These fears, in turn, are constantly being used, distorted, and manipulated, often against us. The war echoes in our ears, minds, and hearts.

Weapons and militarization are utilized as means to enhance the sense of security among citizens, especially in Europe. Increased armament is presented both as a security guarantee in the communication campaigns and budget plans of governments, as well as a deterrent to perceived or real enemies. However, armament is also a significant business venture, serving the interests of national economies and private companies alike, while simultaneously creating a general sense of threat in the public, despite the promise of security. After all, weapons, once they exist, tend to go off even with the best intentions. With the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in the immediate vicinity of Hungary, which increasingly projects the specter of another world war, the permanent escalation threat of the Middle East conflict, and perpetual civil wars and border skirmishes across the globe, the sound of bombs echoes in our ears as never before. The enticing siren song of safety is easily drowned out by the wail of air-raid sirens.

Sound, with its intense somatic materiality, is often deployed in psychological, and even in physical warfare. The sounds of air raids,bombs, and fighter jets impacts can be as devastating as the actual casualties they induce. The butcher’s bill is paid in somatic symptoms and post-traumatic conditions, which, as we know, can be as deadly as the weapons themselves. Organized in a former air-raid-shelter in the framework of OFF-Biennale Budapest, the exhibition Emergency Frequencies presents works that represent, manipulate, and play with the sounds of war. These works transcribe, deconstruct, recompose and overwrite the sounds of conflict, offering visions of possible futures where weapons might remain silent after all.

The exhibition, in collaboration with the Blinken OSA Archivum, will also present a range of archival material on the Cold War civil air defense, as well as documents from the siege of Budapest, which ended eighty years ago.

Curators: Veronika Molnár, Katalin Székely

Venue: Bakáts Bunker Underground Cultural Space, Bakáts tér 1. (District 9)

Open: May 11 – June 15, Monday–Sunday: 9.00–19.00

Supported by: British Council Hungary, Ukrainian Institute, Municipality of Ferencváros