An image of a bird perched above the friar Saint Ero welcomes pilgrims to the Monastery of Armenteira, nestled in Mount Castrove of Pontevedra (Galicia). As recounted by Alfonso X in the 13th century, this miracle occurred one day after having pleaded endlessly to the Virgin to give him a glimpse of Paradise. The friar was walking through the gardens and sat to listen to a bird’s song, upon rousing from his reverie he returned to the monastery to find 300 years had passed. 

This live multichannel performance recreates the acoustic space of the monastery of Armenteira, combining field recordings and ambisonics to explore notions of time, space and contemplation through long format drone. 

Christian Cherene is an artist and interdisciplinary researcher based between Belfast and Barcelona. His work in interactive systems is developed through collaborations at the intersection of performance art, cognitive science, immersive technology and community. He is currently Visiting Research Fellow at the Sonic Arts Research Centre at QUB.