Ariel Guzik

Ariel Guzik was born in Mexico City in 1960, where he lives and works as a musician, researcher, visual artist, inventor, herbalist, and self-taught investigator of natural phenomena. His practice brings together art, music, physics, electromagnetism, mechanics, and traditional herbal medicine. Since 1990, he has directed the Laboratory for Research in Resonance and Expression of Nature, an interdisciplinary project devoted to the study of resonance, electricity, magnetism, mechanics, and other signals produced by the natural world. Through the invention of instruments and machines, Guzik seeks forms of encounter and communication between humans and other living beings, privileging perception, imagination, fascination, and mystery rather than the attempt to decipher or control nature. A central aspect of Guzik’s work is the transformation of imperceptible or barely perceptible natural phenomena into sound. His instruments investigate signals associated with the environment, including electromagnetic, meteorological, oceanic, and biological phenomena, creating situations in which nature becomes a source of sonic experience. His approach is grounded in the idea that such signals should not necessarily be translated into conventional forms of information, but can instead be encountered through listening, resonance, and sensory perception. In 2013, Guzik represented Mexico at the 55th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale with *Cordiox*, presented at the former Church of San Lorenzo. The monumental sound instrument, constructed from fused quartz, taut strings, and wood, explores the reorganisation of signals from chaotic, thermal, and electromagnetic sources through principles of harmonic resonance. Rather than functioning as a conventional scientific instrument, *Cordiox* creates a large-scale acoustic environment in which physical phenomena are experienced through sound. For many years, Guzik has also concentrated on the possibility of communication with cetaceans. His *Nereida* project developed an underwater instrument intended to establish contact with whales and dolphins through sound. The *Nereida Capsule*, commissioned by Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary in 2015, consists of an underwater capsule containing a fused-quartz sound instrument and other components; its purpose is to create the conditions for an encounter with cetaceans without approaching them through utilitarian or conventional scientific research. Earlier versions of *Nereida* were also presented in the context of Guzik’s long-term research into cetacean communication. Guzik’s practice has been presented internationally in exhibitions and institutional projects, including *And Say the Animal Responded?* at FACT in Liverpool and *Tidalectics* at Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary in Vienna. His work is also represented in the TBA21 Collection. Across his research, Guzik continues to develop instruments, sound environments, drawings, and experimental forms of listening that explore the relationships between human perception and the signals of the living world. Rather than seeking definitive explanations, his work proposes art as a means of attending to the subtle forms of resonance that connect humans with their surroundings and with other forms of life.