Janine Jop
Janine Jop (Mexico, 1990) is a musician and interdisciplinary artist working across sound, performance, and text. As a violinist, composer, and improviser, her practice is situated within the field of experimental music. She is a member of Sociedad de Artistas Vivxs, focused on collaborative processes in the performing arts; co-artistic director of Ensamble Supercluster, dedicated to expanded music and interdisciplinary collaborations; and co-founder of Colectiva Tsunami, a feminist network of Mexican musicians. She holds a Master’s degree in Contemporary Performance and Composition (CoPeCo) and is currently pursuing a PhD in the Arts at Mozarteum University Salzburg.
“Sometimes, we also need to recognise when silence must be broken.”
I am drawn to sounds that emerge from questions, from exploring what cannot yet be grasped. For this reason, listening becomes central to my practice: a way of researching, relating, and paying attention. Listening can be a solitary activity, but it stands as a practice of solidarity.
I often think of silence as both a philosophical and political practice: a reminder that we are an infinitesimal part of a whole, an action against polarisation, or the peak of our listening capabilities. Sometimes, we also need to recognise when silence must be broken.
I compose with musical instruments, with the violin as my main instrument, alongside field recordings and electronic processing. I often work with language and its transformation, both spoken and textual. I explore the contrasts and frictions between these materials across textural, melodic, rhythmic, and spatial dimensions. These encounters can take the form of sonic atmospheres, fictional documentaries, or speculative narratives, often unfolding through staged concerts and sound-based performances that incorporate theatrical and narrative elements.
I care about sounds in relation to their context, rather than spectacular acousmatic music. Materials gathered from the world are a living archive to me. I live this process as a sensuous experience, and I enjoy thinking about how to create a journey between the sensory and the perceptual.
I remind myself that artistic freedom also requires unlearning what is no longer needed.
I value the uniqueness and unrepeatability of each co-creative process. I tend to work from the substance rather than form. Therefore, interdisciplinary collaborations and improvisational processes are fundamental to my practice.
The liveness, the encounter, the communion, the seen and the unseen sharing a fleeting moment in space-time are the main motor of my artistic practice.
