Detleva Verens

Detleva Verens works to explore the spatialisation of sound and the sonorousness of space. She considers the cybernetic systems operating in natural phenomena and the chaotic nature of complex technological systems. Verens operates in the paradoxical, liminal and microscopic. Often working with acoustic micro-sounds, she is interested in the deployment of non-musical organisational structures. According to Verens, music doesn't merely have a shape but shapes the world. She says the two most important events in her life were examples of music that changed the world we live in: the Singing Revolution, the series of spontaneous mass demonstrations of singing all over Estonia, from 1987 to 1991, that ended in Estonia winning its independence from Soviet Russia; and "Everybody", Estonia's winning entry in the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest, performed by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL, which was the first Eurovision win by a former member of the USSR and also the first grand-prize win by a black performer. Detleva Verens considers herself working in the tradition of revolutionary Estonian musical power.

Born in 1977 in Tartu, Estonia, Detleva Verens studied information technology at the Tallinn University of Technology, receiving her MS in 2002 with a specialisation in cybernetics, phonetics and speech technology. She was also in 2002 awarded the ALEA Composition Prize for her piece, Ad Astra Per Aspera, which convinced her to shift her focus from academic research in cybernetics to artistic experimentation. Since then, Verens has worked to explore the spatiality of sound, the confluence of technology, vocality and the natural world, micro-sounds and micro-scapes and cybernetic approaches to music. She moved to Ireland in 2004.

Her works have been performed by groups including Black Hair, Ensemble Klang, KNM Berlin, Champ d'Action, Grúpat and Concorde. Installations and projects of hers have been commissioned by South Dublin County Council (Tallaght, Ireland), ZKM Center for Art and Media (Karlsruhe, Germany), Catalyst Arts (Belfast, Northern Ireland), Darklight (Dublin, Ireland) and the Museum of Timişoara (Timişoara, Romania). She has held residencies at Europos Parkas (Lithuania), the Hungarian Multiculture Centre (Hungary) and Yaddo (USA).

Verens's most recent work includes Acquifera, The Cabinet of Dr. O'Mahony, Scintillia, Cocoa, Vanilla, Brazilwood and Amphitopotrichospin. She lives in Tallaght.