International Forum on Artistic Research
17th Conference of the Society for Artistic Research (SAR)
Submission Number: 243
Submission ID: 303
Submission UUID: 83b40a53-aa68-4c6b-95e7-14e344769b0c

Created: Sat, 28 Feb 2026 - 16:05
Completed: Sat, 28 Feb 2026 - 16:12
Changed: Wed, 13 May 2026 - 08:44

Remote IP address: 51.186.179.9
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English

Is draft: No
Current page: webform_confirmation

Flagged: Yes
Given name Francesca
Surname Placanica
Email Francesca.Placanica@mu.ie
I understand that by submitting this form, I consent to the use of my data for the purposes of the 2026 Forum on Artistic Research'. Yes
I agree to the terms of service. Yes
Title EROSION
Format Project presentation
Main language English
Abstract In January 2026, alarming footage from the town of Niscemi, Sicily, struck by flooding has circulated internationally. Images of the landslide affecting the medieval borough perched on a hill drew the attention of geologists and geographers worldwide. A similar fate—though subjected to far less media coverage—affects the historic centre of Caulonia, a small Calabrian town and the place of origin of one of the artists. Reflection on erosion as the process by which the earth's surface is gradually worn away through the climatic action of rain and wind becomes a fertile metaphor for the progressive demographic and cultural decline of these territories, which remain unique repositories of cultural and colonial stratification. Erosion as depopulation mirrors the progressive abandonment of these lands by younger generations who emigrate elsewhere in search of stability, leaving behind aging communities and increasingly fragile infrastructures. Furthermore, environmental exploitation and speculative development intensify territorial fragility. Cultural predation operates through the commodification of tradition, dialects and musical forms repackaged for tourist consumption and stripped of their layered historical relevance. As human presence diminishes, so too does the attention needed to sustain the built and natural environment. 'Erosion' is a vocal digital work with moving image addressing the geological urgency of erosion as metaphor for the progressive impoverishment of these territories and their cultural and linguistic legacies. Emerging from a textual collage of endangered local dialects and the Griko language, the piece stems from a sonic form of lamentation. Through stratified vocal and media textures, the work evokes the richness of the cultural inheritances these languages incapsulate while resisting the deterioration processes to which these territories and their idioms are increasingly subjected.
Link to the Exposition https://www.researchcatalogue.net/profile/show-exposition?exposition=4215171
Image Putnam_IndeterminateProphecy_2025_Limerick.jpeg
Short biographies of the presenter(s)
  • Francesca Placanica is Assistant Professor in Music in the Department of Music at Maynooth University, where she is also at the head of the Performance Strand. A singer and artist-researcher with international experience in opera and music theatre, she has recently terminated a MSCA Individual Fellowship at the University of Huddersfield, where she was the project-leader of the practice-based project NePraMusT (Networks of Practice in New Music Theatre). Between 2015 and 2017, she was the project-leader of the artistic research project ‘En-Gendering Monodrama: Artistic Research and Experimental Production’ completed at Maynooth University, one of the few artistic research projects awarded a two-year IRC postdoctoral fellowship.

  • EL Putnam is an artist-philosopher working in performance art, video, sound, and digital media. Her practice focuses on borders and entanglements, particularly the interplay of the corporeal with the machinic. EL actively presents artworks and performances in the United States, Europe, and beyond, and has been a member of the Boston-based Mobius Artists Group since 2009. She is Associate Professor of Digital Media in the Department of Media Studies at Maynooth University, where I teach digital media practice and theory classes on the BA Media Studies and BA Media and Cultural Studies programmes.
    http://www.elputnam.com
Previous presentations or iterations of the research No
Additional information Powerpoint Slides; embedded audiovisual screening
Spatial and technical requirements Screen and sound system for audiovisual reproduction (PC/Mac podiums with HDMI connection is fine)
Potential risks or ethical concerns No ethical concerns
Create a user account for SAR 2026 Yes
Create new user Francesca Placanica