An audiovisual installation that analyzes the ritual of the crowd, transforming stadium sounds into sculptures and collective emotion.
Marcin Dudek’s work has always moved between autobiographical experience and the exploration of broader social phenomena: the rituals of subcultures, the DIY economy, and, most notably, crowd dynamics. What happens to the individual when pulled into the multitude? Where does control end and mass momentum begin?
The Ground Harbours the Soul (2025) is the new audiovisual installation by the Polish-Belgian artist, which merges sculpture and sound into a powerful investigation of communal emotion.
The work originated from repeated research and audio-recording trips during Tottenham Hotspur matches (in collaboration with sound designers Mark Burman and Jon Calver). These rich, raw sounds became the raw material for a soundscape and an installation that unfolds in three narrative movements:
→ The Opening: A splintered cork body emits the sounds of pre-match rituals and the walk to the stadium.
→ The Immersion: A triptych made of secondhand speakers fills the space with football chants and real-time recordings of supporters living through a game.
→ The Conclusion: A helmet-like cork sculpture allows viewers to immerse themselves in the post-match emotions: the ecstatic joy of victory or the crushing disappointment of defeat.
Through found, salvaged, or repurposed materials (Dudek is known for his obsessive use of medical tape in painting), the installation touches upon questions of power and aggression in the context of cultural and sport spectacle. The act of cheering is not just noise, but a spontaneous, collective language which, thanks to the work of Dudek and his team, will soon be available in an online, categorized database for further sociological analysis.
BIO
Marcin Dudek lives and works in Brussels. After leaving Poland at 21, he studied at the Mozarteum University Salzburg and Central Saint Martins in London. His works, which address art as a “strategy for living,” have been exhibited in international museums and institutions, focusing on the use of recycled materials to construct installations and paintings that explore the dynamics of power and social confrontation.
This project is part of RESILENCE: Future Soundscapes & Affect Mining in Urban Ecosystems, the exhibition showcasing the outcomes of fifteen international art residencies supported by S+T+ARTS (the European Commission’s initiative for science, technology, and the arts). Through the artistic exploration of sound, RESILENCE redefines urban spaces, using the acoustic dimension to analyze the complex affective and ecological relations of future cities and promote collective awareness of what lies beyond mere noise. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with BASE, as part of the FAROUT Festival 2025 edition.