María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard

Matanzas Sound Map explores the region of Matanzas, Cuba, where Campos-Pons was born. The various components of the work – sculpture, video, live plants and a multi-speaker audio composition – reference different elements of everyday life, sacred beliefs, history and community.   

Glass and metal sculptures stand in the centre. The blue teardrop-shaped objects are inspired by ancient Greek vessels used to catch the tears of mourners. ‘There’s not enough containers to capture the tears of the world’, says Campos-Pons. ‘It would be an ocean.’ The yellow and brown sculptures reference instruments employed in sugar refining and the production of rum. Many of the elements present the sea and Matanzas as a centre for Black Caribbean culture, music and technological experimentation.  

This installation was originally created in 2017 for the exhibition Documenta 14 in Athens, Greece. Here the artists have re-imagined it for the unique qualities of the East Tank. Campos-Pons has included a metalwork based on her drawing of a Matanzas landmark. It shows various local trees, including a 500-year-old ceiba tree that grows around an old gear from a sugar mill. Leonard has adapted the sound composition to the acoustics of the Tanks, turning the room into what he calls ‘a new space for listening.’