Sound counter-practices of disappearance

: reflecting on social and political awareness through sound in Colombia

Abstract

This thesis analyses the potential of sound as a critical and political medium for engaging with the phenomenon of enforced disappearance in Colombia. Through a practice-based research approach, the project explores how listening can become an act of recognition, resistance, and memory construction in post-conflict scenarios. The result is a sound installation titled 769: At Least Their Names, which seeks to activate a space for collective reflection and ethical listening, centered on the victims of disappearance in the department of Tolima. Grounded in both theoretical frameworks and artistic practices, the project contributes to the growing field of socially engaged sound art by proposing the act of listening as a form of counter-memory and symbolic reparation.

Date of Award	12 Sept 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	José Alberto Gomes (Supervisor)