Geraldo Pina

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Geraldo Pina's MPhil/PhD Art research project

Silences and Omission: The Soul of the Sound. Conjuring Overlapping Worlds Through the Sacred Sonic of Malafo. Accessing anti-colonial resistance through sound archives, orality, and listening practices in Guinea-Bissau.

This doctoral project investigates how sound and silence act as living archives of memory and resistance in Guinea-Bissau. Focusing on the community of Malafo and the Mediateca Abotcha, the research explores the fragile yet powerful “immaterial archives” of orality, songs, and sonic landscapes.

By activating historical film and sound collections from the liberation struggle, the project asks how these practices can challenge lingering colonial structures. It centers on concepts like sacred soundscapes, deliberate silences, and deep listening, as meaningful forms of cultural preservation and knowledge.

Methodologically, it adopts a transdisciplinary and participatory approach, working with the community to record, reactivate, and reimagine archives. This work seeks to bridge the gap between rural communities and academia, promoting a horizontal exchange of knowledge and contributing to global debates on decolonization, memory, and sonic cultures.

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