On Air - On Site : 48 Hours of Radio Art

Airing on May 22nd 21:45 CEST
Akallabêth
Genre: Soundscape Composition
Duration: 15 min
Akallabêth (15 min) establishes an analogy between the myth of hubris and the sinking of Númenor—as recounted in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion—and the socio-environmental disasters currently unfolding in Venezuela.

The piece constructs an auditory cartography of crisis. Sounds of torrential rains, landslides, and affected communities intertwine with vocal textures and sonic traces of geopolitical tension, creating a dense atmosphere where the human and the elemental collapse into one another. Against this backdrop, the persistent grinding of machinery and the hammering of extractivism evoke Venezuela’s Mining Arc (Arco Minero): a territory devastated by the pursuit of so-called precious stones, where rivers and forests have been poisoned, ancestral ways of life erased, and the land itself left barren.

Drawing from a non-hegemonic perspective, Akallabêth invites reflection on the invisible forces—social, political, and environmental—that, like a planetary system in collapse, precipitate the fragmentation of territory and memory. Amid the constant roar of machines, the voices of those who have disappeared persist as whispers in the air, timeless remnants of a world consumed by greed. The work is a fragment of what we have allowed to transgress the terrestrial atmosphere: a soundscape where hubris meets its fall.

Featuring:

Miguel Antonio Contreras Hincapie

Miguel Antonio Contreras Hincapie develops a transmedia artistic practice where sculpture, sound art, and new media converge. He graduated with honors in Visual Arts (Sculpture emphasis) from UNEARTE, Venezuela, in 2015. His thesis Subversion of Fantastic Sculpture received an Honorary Mention and anticipated his exploration of expanded poetics. His dual background in Nursing, Art Direction, Screenwriting, and Cinematography grounds his critical approach to the body, space,
and narrative.

His work has been recognized with first prize in Digital Sculpture at the ULA International Biennial (2022) and the Virgilio Trómpiz Award (2016). He has participated in residencies such as Lab Productora (Argentina) and Art Session Innopraktika (Russia). His pieces have been featured in sound art festivals including Sur Aural, Tsonami, Irradiarte, Encuentro Latinoamericano de Arte Sonora (Brazil), as well as in institutional venues like MAC Caracas, the Latin American Art Triennial (NY), and Miami New Media Festival.

In 2025 he took part in the IV Encuentro Latinoamericano de Arte Sonora, Irradiarte, and Punto y Raya (Bulgaria). In 2026 he is participating in the 67th Salón Arturo Michelena, the XIX Tsonami International Sound Art Festival, and Monteaudio Festival.
Web: machsculptures.com
Instagram: @miguelcontrerasescultor

OPEN CALL: Deadline April 17, 2026