Hugo Paquete - Spatial & Relational Systems Art Portfolio
Academic Research and Artistic Practice
Hugo Paquete, PhD is a sonic media artist and researcher specializing in spatial systems, relational systems, and immersive performance art. His work explores the intersection of sound, technology, and human experience through post-techno opera, computational art, bio-art installations, and data sonification practices.
Research Focus Areas
- Spatial sound systems and distributed sonic architecture
- Relational aesthetics in digital media art
- Post-techno opera and immersive performance
- AI sound installations and post-human narrative
- Bio-art and epistemological sound art
- Data sonification and scientific visualization
- Motion capture and avatar sonification
- Electromagnetic transduction and signal processing
- Generative metamedia and non-deterministic systems
- Urban perception and cognitive soundscapes
Featured Projects and Artistic Works
NEGENTROPY: The Last Man in the Wasteland
Post-techno opera for planetary dystopia presented as an immersive performance at Porto Planetarium. This work explores concepts of negentropy, ecological collapse, and civilizational memory through spatial sound systems and 3D animation, featuring real-time CO₂ data sonification and radical reinterpretations of Jani Christou's compositions.
YUGEN: Post-Techno Sound Design for Dance & Technology
Motion capture performance exploring the space between physical body and digital avatar through real-time sonification. The work uses granular synthesis and algorithmic composition to create prosthetic auditory bodies for virtual representations, challenging boundaries of embodiment and electronic music.
SARS-COV-2: Radical Sonification | Epistemological Sound Art
Bio-digital installation translating SARS-CoV-2 RNA sequences into MIDI-controlled polyrhythms and granular synthesis. This epistemological intervention uses sound as critical methodology, creating corporeal encounters with biological data through algorithmic materialism and real-time reactive systems.
ODO: No Body Lives Here — AI Sound Installation
Interactive AI sound installation with Chris Ziegler premiered at ZKM Karlsruhe's 48-loudspeaker Kubus. The work explores distributed sonic architecture and post-human narrative through deep learning algorithms that generate conversations, poetry, and music based on audience interaction.
Obscure Radiation — Electromagnetic Sonification
Real-time audiovisual performance revealing hidden electromagnetic landscapes of urban environments. Using custom-built hardware and software, the work transforms ambient light fluctuations and electromagnetic fields into live sonic material, exploring territorial sonification and technological indeterminism.
COSMOS — Interactive Dance & Spatial Sound
Gravitational wave sonification performance at ZKM Karlsruhe translating Einstein's predictions into immersive choreography. The work features Hugo Paquete's composition "Unevenness" sent to asteroid Bennu aboard NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission.
Zoe: Actant — Immersive Sound Installation
Post-digital performance exploring biopolitics and distributed agency through clinical data sonification. Developed during residency at Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, the work transforms genetic code and electromagnetic transductions into generative sound environments.
Synthony under 20Hz — Analog Light Sonification
Generative sonification installation transforming light into sound through solar panels and analog circuitry. The work engages post-digital materialism and infrastructural listening, exposing hidden energy systems through tactile transduction.
Phase Shift — Generative Metamedia
Non-deterministic music system reimagining Thomas Young's double-slit experiment as audiovisual environment. The work investigates perception thresholds through light-to-sound transduction and stochastic composition.
(USC) Unpredictable Systems and Collapse
Meta-media performance system exploring computational failure and glitch aesthetics. The project reconfigures computer desktops into instruments of sonic entropy, exposing the materiality and fragility of digital media.
Corpus Pygmalion / Corpus — Transmedia Performance
Computational choreography and spatial sound design dissolving boundaries between body, sound, and virtual space. The work transforms dancer movements into multichannel compositions through sensor-based systems.
Acustic Place — Spatial Sound System
Large-scale sound spatialization system re-engaging militarized acoustics through computational aesthetics. The star-shaped speaker array enables experimental spatialization strategies bridging acousmatic composition and electronic music.
Articulating Function — Interactive Sound Installation
Sonic architecture exploring body-machine-space relationships through sensor networks and multichannel projection. The work creates laboratories of perception where human presence is mapped by sound.
XYZ — Electromagnetic Art Installation
Media archaeological investigation of information transmission through radio, field recording, and spatial sound. The work creates pirate radio zones and multi-sensory critiques of mediated reality.
R.P.R — Urban Perception Research
Multi-channel sound installation studying cognitive processing in urban environments through strategic recording and computational errors. The work transforms bus journeys into laboratories of auditory cognition.
Technical Methodologies
Paquete's artistic research employs custom computational systems for spatial audio processing, real-time data sonification, motion capture integration, electromagnetic field capture, and interactive installation design. His technical infrastructure includes multi-channel speaker arrays, sensor networks, AI algorithms, and analog-digital hybrid systems.
Academic Context and Institutional Affiliations
As Founding Director of Absonus Lab, Hugo Paquete leads research in sonic media art and spatial systems. His academic affiliations include research positions at CIAC (Center for Research in Arts and Communication), iAlab Sensoria, and BARN (Biofeedback Art Research Network). Former resident artist at ZKM | Hertz Lab: Institute for Music and Acoustics, with international presentations at prestigious institutions including Ars Electronica, ZKM, Porto Planetarium, Tanzhaus NRW, and venues across Europe, North America, and South America.
Exhibition History and International Presence
Regular presenter at international festivals and institutions including ZKM Karlsruhe, Ars Electronica, Porto Planetarium, Tanzhaus NRW, Arquipélago Contemporary Arts Center, LAVA Valladolid, Kaunas Art Festival, and numerous European cultural venues. Supported by DGArtes, European Cultural Fund, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and international research networks.
Keywords and Research Terminology
spatial systems, relational systems, sonic media art, post-techno opera, data sonification, immersive performance, AI sound installation, bio-art, post-human narrative, motion capture sonification, electromagnetic art, generative metamedia, computational aesthetics, media archaeology, epistemological sound art, distributed agency, technological unconscious, infrastructural listening, algorithmic materialism, non-deterministic music, urban perception, cognitive soundscapes, participatory installation, transmedia performance, spatial composition, acoustic ecology, signal transduction, post-digital practice
Contact: Hugo Paquete, PhD - paquetehugo@gmail.com | +351 919 396 727 | https://hugopaquete.com
Post-Digital Sonic Media Art: Composing Systems of Resistance through Sound