Sound Lifeline: War Soundscape of the besiged Sarajevo

At the International Burch University (IBU), our research has been focused on the sonic memories of war, or more specifically of the siege of Sarajevo 1991-1995 as remembered by fifteen survivors. The project has been led by Lejla Odobasic Novo and it seeks to understand how the collective sonic memory is shaped through individual memories, and in order to understand that we conducted interviews with the survivors. The semi-formal interviews were filmed, transcribed and analysed through an academic prism supported by current sonic theory. We used the academic research in the creation of three artistic works as a means of addressing the sonic war memories which include aspects of trauma. At the core of the project lays the exploration of the relationship between sound, space, memory and war.

Photo by Amina Alic