
Luc Messinezis is a professional artist and researcher working across sound, installation and performance. Despite his former scientific background he changed direction and holds an MA in Sound Arts awarded by the University of the arts London and a PhD after completing his research “Aural Simulacra: Sonic hyperreality and the orders of the heard” at the Department of Audiovisual arts of Ionian University. His practice explores aural awareness, perception, anthropology, notions of authenticity and reality. He has presented several of his artworks in venues across the globe and authored numerous publications.
Selected Exhibitions
September 2023 – Stereoma Exhibition by MOMus, Sound Artist (Thessaloniki, Greece)
Invited to present the sonomatique artwork Less Hearing (But so much more listening) as part of an electroacoustic music and audiovisual arts exhibition curated by Eirini Papakonstantinou at MOMus Experimental Center of the Arts.
February 2023 – Audioblast #11 by APO33, Sound Artist (Nantes, France)
Commissioned to compose the long listening piece Autopoiesis No.1 , which is transmitted in AM radio waves by using a tree as an antenna. The piece is autogenerative, transforming the soundscape around a specific tree into its musical doppelganger.
January 2023 – Polar Sounds by Cities & Memory, Sound Artist (Online)
Commissioned to compose Upstream (the Seine) a piece utilizing the recordings of the Orcinus Orca species in their natural habitat in the Antarctic provided by Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research in 2022 and narrates the story of an orca as she travels from the arctic towards its inexplicable demise in the river Seine.
September 2022 – Electric Nights Festival, Sound Artist (Piraeus, Greece)
Commissioned to prepare and execute the conceptual performance When I was a Kid involving live electroacoustic techniques and found sound.
October 2021 – 17th Athens Digital Art Festival, Sound Artist (Athens, Greece)
Commissioned to present the artwork Natural Perversion v.2 – Experiential Edition at the ancient site of Horologion of Andronikos Kyrrhestes (Tower of the Winds) and to reprise the artwork Flowers from the Uncanny Valley at the Museum of Modern Greek Culture.
May 2021 – 14th Festival of Audio and Visual Arts 2021, Sound Artist (Corfu, Greece)
Presented the artwork Natural Perversion based on biomimetic techniques.September 2020 – Ars Electronica 2020, Sound Artist (Linz, Austria)
Official selection of the artwork Procession of the Simulacra by the Sound Campus programme of Ars Electronica 2020.
January 2020 – minus20degree Festival for Art and Architecture, Sound Artist (Flachau, Austria)
Commissioned to create and present the site specific land sound artwork Amalgama. The sound intervention took place at a public pathway of Flachau from the 23rd until the 25th of January 2020 fusing two realities into an amalgam – a hyperreality – with different properties.
October 2019 – Into my garden come @ Primarolia Festival 2019, Sound Artist (Egio, Greece).
An original artwork called Flowers from the Uncanny Valley was commissioned to feature at “Into my
garden come” contemporary art show part of the first Primarolia festival. The artwork was designed and realised in collaboration with sculptor Yiannis Brouzos.
May 2017 – Digital Art exhibition Retrospective at Megaron, Sound Artist (Athens, Greece)
Presented the original artwork Sisyphus in Bits. The sound installation piece was on display the 20th and the 21st of May 2017 at Megaron Mousikis – the Athens Concert Hall.
March 2016 – Digital Art exhibition “Diko mou”, Sound Artist (Athens, Greece)
Was invited by the curators to Present the original artwork God is Sitting in a Room. The multi-channel interactive installation piece received very positive critiques and was on display between 16 and 23 of March 2016.
May 2015 – Athens Digital Arts Festival 2015, Sound Artist (Athens, Greece)
Invited by Athens Digital art Festival and Project to present a new version of the installation Eavesdropping; Crisis as part of festival’s 2015 Edition themed “Public Space_s”.
June 2013 – Implode Festival 2013, Sound Artist/Performer (Khalkis, Greece)
Invited to perform live the concrete live improvisation piece Sonic Garbage as part of the first experimental and sound art festival Implode Festival at the city of Khalkis.
May 2013 – Art Athina 2013 Art Fair, Sound Artist (Athens, Greece)
Presented the sound sculpture Destination: Journey as part of Artia Gallery’s art platform platform Emeis33 for Art Athina 2013.
September 2012 – Marble Metal and Sound, Sound Artist (Paxos Island, Greece)
Presented the sound sculpture Of Dignity and Rights as part of the exhibition Marble Metal and Sound at the old customs house of Logos village of Paxos Island.
September 2011 – Reworks festival 2011, Sound Artist (Thessaloniki, Greece)
Presented the installation Eavesdropping; Crisis as part of the sound art exhibition Sounds Like Art. The show was curated by E. Papavergou and was part of Reworks 2011 music festival.
July 2011 – Pyrgos Cultural Centre, Sound Artist (Tinos Island, Greece)
Presented the installation Eavesdropping; Crisis. The work explored the attributes of the act of eavesdropping inviting the audience to undertake the role of the eavesdropper and discover hidden aspects of everyday life through times of financial crisis.
December 2010 – SoundFjord, Sound Artist (London, UK)
Developed the audio work I Saw as part of the sonic exquisite corpse project which was presented at Soundfjord gallery and research unit. The show was curated by H. Frosi.
April 2010 – Levendel Bloch Gallery, Sound Artist (Ein Hod, Israel)
Design and realization of the sound art installation Forest in a Forest. The work was an audiovisual appreciation of the forests around the Carmel Mountains. Visual and audio elements were removed from their original context and were used as materials for creative practice within the context of a gallery.
July 2009 – SoundPool , Sound Artist (International)
Stereo adaptation of the artwork Wunderkammer: The sound cabinet of curiosities. The work is exhibited online at SoundPool VI, which was curated by W.A. de Colone.
November 2008 – IMT Gallery/Electra Productions, Sound Artist (London, UK)
Designed and realized the multichannel sound art project Wunderkammer: The sound cabinet of curiosities, proposing a new compositional strategy. The work was presented at IMT Gallery, London as part of the exhibition ‘Audio Forensics’.
Awards
December 2015 – ScreenGrab7 International Media Award, Award nominee (Townsville, Australia)
Shortlisted for the ScreenGrab7 media award for the artwork The Modern Book of Cynics. The piece was on display at Pinaccles Gallery between 18 December 2015 and 28 February 2016.
May/June 2010 – AIR Krems, Artist in residence (Krems, Austria)
Awarded with the opportunity to develop new work as an artist in residence for two months in Krems, Austria. Works developed included the Sound installation/performance piece Sonic Garbage and the SoundMark Series.
Research & Publications
Messinezis, L., & Loufopoulos, A. (2022). Orders of the Heard: The Order of Sorcery. Στο D. Honorato, I. Reichle, V. González, A. Maria, & A. Giannakoulopoulos (Επιμ.), Taboo-Transgression-Transcendence in Art & Science 2020 (σσ. 376–382). Ionian University.
Messinezis, L., & Loufopoulos, A. (2021). Natural Perversion. Acoustic Biomimetics and Aural Simulacra of the Order of Maleficence. Digital Culture and Audio-Visual Challenges 3rd International Conference, Under publication.
Messinezis, L., & Loufopoulos, A. (2019). Orders of the Heard. The Sacramental Order. Digital Culture and Audio-Visual Challenges 2nd International Conference, Under publication.
Μεσσηνέζης, Λ., & Λουφόπουλος, Α. (2018). Αμάλγαμα. Αλχημικές πρακτικές στην ηχητική τέχνη. 5ο Συνέδριο Ακουστικής Οικολογίας, «Ήχος, Βίωμα, Εκπαίδευση», 52–57.
Messinezis, L. (2017a). Aural Simulacra: The signal’s Path to Metamorphosis. Technoetic Arts, 15(2), 143–150. https://doi.org/10.1386/tear.15.2.143_1
Messinezis, L. (2017b). Aural simulacra: The signal’s path to metamorphosis [Poster]. Taboo-Transgression-Transcendence in Art & Science, Corfu.
Messinezis, L. (2015). Is-Real [Sound Composition]. 7th international FKL symposium on aspects of the soundscape, Besenello.
Messinezis, L. (2012). Audiopsy Jerusalem. An Existentialist Approach to Exploiting the Soundscape for Artistic Purposes. The Global Composition Proceedings, 454–458.
Messinezis, L. (2011). Eavesdropping Greece [Sound Installation]. Ethnographic Terminalia: Field, studio, lab, Montreal.