Artist statement 2022:
Is it a sound? Is it a rhythm? Is it a texture? Is it a word? Is it a context? Is it me? I work with listening as an intangible, intersubjective and transformative activity that has a potential to form the listener. I explore the ways in which we are embedded in socio-political structures, specifically focusing on gender, power relations and the environment, and the ways in which they intersect. Through creating and caring for spaces and situations where listening takes place, I critique conditions and provide opportunities for the listener to become aware of themselves in the soundscape.
My relation to sound and performance began as a child, when I constructed my own percussion instruments out of wood scraps and convinced my friends to form a band. I later pursued my passion for rhythms into a career as a jazz drummer and composer, performing extensively around Europe, and composing music for several projects. In 2014, I destroyed my drums with a baseball bat in an art gallery performance, which was a turning point on my artistic path. Though these days I rarely touch the drums, I still rely on improvisation, spontaneity and intuition in my creative processes.
Currently, I work at the intersection of sound art, artistic research, social engagement and activism. I produce works in a multitude of formats, from installations and performance art, to recordings, concerts, writing and workshops.
Contact: mp@morten-poulsen(dot)dk
CV (full CV on request)
Education and courses (selected)
2022 The Listening Academy – London, UK
2022 Practice-Based Sound Studies – School of Sound, Berlin DE
2021-22 Enhanced Practices – International Center for Knowledge in the Arts, Copenhagen DK
2019-21 Cand. Musicae – Rhythmic Music Conservatory, Copenhagen DK
2019 Experimental Music – Universität der Künste Berlin DE
Solo exhibitions (selected)
2022 DARKWEB.DK – XM3, Aalborg DK
2021 You Are My Sunshine – Men’s International Day, Copenhagen DK
2021 Unhearing the White Voice – C4 Projects, Copenhagen DK
2021 The White Voice – various locations
2021 Are you okay? – online
2020 The Dark Web Office – Kunsthal Aarhus DK
2019 Nothing to See – ArtRoom/1000Fryd, Aalborg DK
2019 Domestica – Kunsten Museum of Contemporary Art, Aalborg DK
2018 Sub – Nature Summit, Hirtshals DK
2017 Tremor or: How I learned not to be nervous – Aarhus Artspace, DK
Group exhibitions (selected)
2022 Hør, – XM3, Aalborg DK
2022 Exhale(s) – Errant Sound, Berlin DE
2022 Bedrock – Ladder, Copenhagen DK
2022 Walking Landscapes Exhibition – Kunsthal Nord, Aalborg DK
2021 Maybe it’s time for something else? – Rhythmical Music Conservatory, Copenhagen DK
2021 Er det? – Window conversations, Bergen NO
2020 Farcen i Aarhus – Aarhus Sound Art Festival DK
2019 Please ask me how I feel – Big Shark, Aalborg DK
2016 I Am Human Too – FAA Project room, Odense DK
Performances (selected)
2021 Listening with… – Walking Landscapes, Copenhagen DK
2019 The Re-Occupied Bunker – Nature Summit, Hirtshals DK
2018 Atmosphaera – Churches in Frederikshavn, Silkeborg and Aalborg DK
2018 AR I-IV – Open Days Festival for new music and sound art, Aalborg DK
2018 Jazz Iterations – Meutiviti Festival, Aalborg DK
2018 Tiny Sounds (Giuseppe Doronzo/Morten Poulsen) – Aalborg, Aarhus and Odense DK
2018 Untitled – Culture Meeting, Nykøbing Mors DK
2017 LR – Open Days Festival for new music and sound art, Aalborg
2017 Miles Davis Trio – Meutiviti Festival, Aalborg
2014 Camera Sonora – Grüntaler9, Berlin DE
2014 MultiArt – Byens Rum, Aalborg DK
Publications (selected)
2021 Music from ‘Unhearing the White Voice’, independent
2017 RIGHT! by Morten Poulsen Trio, on Outrovaert
2017 Heart on Vacuamoenia
2016 Aerodynamics Pt 2 on The Wire Tapper, The Wire
2016 Dark Web – online
2015 Fjord by TPO, on Outrovaert
2015 NY with Russ Lossing, on Outrovaert
Awards and Artist Residencies (selected)
2020 Inter Arts Center, Malmö SE
2019 BEK, Bergen NO
2018 The Danish Institute, Athens GR
2017 Talent Award, Kulturpris Aalborg
2017 WORM Studio, Rotterdam NL
2017&18 EMS, Stockholm SE
Other (selected)
2022 Grow – Sustainable Work-life for Art and Culture Workers, course
2021 Facilitator of U-Lydig: experimental sound and listening workshops, CPH
2021 Technical Advisor at Walking Landscapes Festival, Copenhagen International Theatre
2020-21 SOME and Press at Between Music
2018 Director of Meutiviti Jazz Festival
2015-22 Underwater-drummer and international touring with Aquasonic by Between Music
Grants (selected)
The Danish Arts Council, Danish Composers’ Society, Autor (Associsation for composers and songwriters), Aalborg Municipality, Nordic Culture Point, SNYK
