The Long Pause Gives Way by Aleksandra Słyż, quadraphonic installation using instruments from the Polish Radio Experimental Studio (SEPR)
The Long Pause Gives Way by Aleksandra Słyż is a quadraphonic sound installation created with the original music and electroacoustic instruments from the Polish Radio Experimental Studio (SEPR). Founded in 1957, SEPR was one of the few places behind the Iron Curtain where sonic experimentation could flourish under state socialism in Poland. The installation draws on the studio’s historic equipment, including Bruel & Kjaer signal generators, the EMS Synthi VCS 3, Telefunken M-15 tape recorders, the Moog 35A modular synthesizer, and the gold-foil EMT 240 Reverb. The equipment remained silent from the closure of SEPR in 2004 until 2022, when it was loaned to the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw for the project of the reconstruction of SEPR. Four original Beag HEC-2 speakers create a quadraphonic listening environment, alluding to SEPR’s early multi-channel experiments. The new commission creates a dialogue between the past and the present, inviting reflection on how historical tools and ancient tuning systems can shape new sonic experiences today. The Long Pause Gives Way is a form of sonic archaeology, an exploration of memory and a celebration of the unique sound at the heart of the Polish Radio Experimental Studio.
The installation is available to visit during the festival Sonics & Scenics at the Museum of Modern Art Warsaw from 26 June to 21 September 2025.
Commissioned by The Wapping Project, co-commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, for the festival Sonics & Scenics, supported by the British Council through UK/Poland Season 2025. Produced with in-kind support from Polish Radio
