artist
Luz María Sánchez
Mexico / Norway
Luz María Sánchez is a transdisciplinary artist, writer, and scholar whose work intersects sound, moving images, generative systems, and AI-driven technologies. Deeply rooted in decolonial thought, her practice interrogates power, technology, and agency through themes of surveillance, dystopian landscapes, and systemic violence. She critically examines language as a techno-scientific system, addressing pressing issues such as crimes against humanity in Mexico, environmental collapse, and the politics of affect.
Sánchez’s work has been widely exhibited across Europe and the Americas. In 2024, she presented a mid-career retrospective at Galeria Miejska Arsenał, Poznań, curated by Ryszard W. Kluszczyński, with an accompanying publication set for release in 2025. Recently she has had solo exhibitions at TEKS.studio, Trondheim and MUAC, Mexico City, and participated in group exhibitions at Bienal Sur, Vincent Price Art Museum, Ars Electronica, Laboratorio Arte Alameda, and ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe.
Sánchez holds a PhD in Art from Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and has taught extensively in Spain, Norway, and Mexico. Her research and publications critically examine Samuel Beckett’s sonic experiments, as well as wider inquiries into acoustic ecologies, translating sonic ambiances, affect and sound, and feral auralities. She has been invited as a guest speaker and keynote at leading institutions and conferences, including the London Beckett Seminar, University of the Arts London, The 10th International Conference on the Histories of Media Art, Science, and Technology, University Paul Valery in Montpellier, Freie Universität Berlin, and ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe. She is the founder of REA-Mexico, a platform fostering discourse on acoustic ecology. In addition to her artistic and academic work, she has curated exhibitions and international conferences that critically engage with sound, media, and transdisciplinary artistic research.
Luz María Sánchez
Vis.[un]necessary force_4, 2019
Participatory sound installation. Active loudspeakers, sound card, microcomputer, touchscreen, Pure data patch, digital sounds.
Dimensions: variable.
Duration, three sections:
I 3 min 18 s
II 3 min 00 s
III 3 min 06 s
The oval of loudspeakers, arranged at ear level, invites visitors into an intimate, spatially embodied sound experience. At its centre, a touchscreen placed on the plinth invites active engagement. Three red squares on the screen correspond to three sections of the sound piece. Visitors are invited to touch the squares—one at a time—to activate the sound.
This multi-channel sound installation addresses enforced disappearance in Mexico and the work of Las Rastreadoras de El Fuerte, a collective of women searching for clandestine graves in the northwest Mexico desert. Despite threats, their actions continue amidst an unresolved humanitarian crisis: official figures report 127,022* missing persons, over 7,000 clandestine graves, and 72,100 unidentified bodies—a scale many believe to be vastly underreported.
Sánchez made field recordings during a full day of search activities with Las Rastreadoras de El Fuerte in February 2019. These recordings form the basis of the installation.
The artwork is part of the artistic research project Vis.[un]necessary force: The Sound of Post-National Mexico (2015–present), supported by the National System of Art Creators (Mexico), and received an Honorary Mention at Prix Ars Electronica (2021).
With gratitude to Mirna Medina and all members of the collective Las Rastreadoras de El Fuerte.
* Retrieval date: 10.04.2025. Source.