Artistic Intervention – tamtam

Many people from Kosovo have fond memories of watching movies at the open-air cinema of Kino Rinia – at least those old enough to remember. It has been three decades since the space was regularly used as a cinema, and quite a while since it felt loved and lived in.

Renowned for their sound research and transformative interventions in urban areas, Sam Auinger and Hannes Strobl – the two artists behind tamtam – respond to the acoustics and ambience of the space. Using soaring metallic sails that flatter and rustle in the wind, they create a musical instrument that is played by the elements in dialogue with the architecture.

The sound the instrument makes is gentle and encapsulating, the shade it creates much yearned for. Though located in one of the noisiest parts of the city, their immersive environment engenders a sense of quietude. Here, for a moment at least, a cosmic, planetary temporality overrides its capitalist, clock-based counterpart.