Festival Focus #1: In conversation with Maria Muehombo (M I M I)
“Herbalism has always run through my veins, as it's part of my ancestral heritage.”
Author: Chiara Pitrola
Maria Muehombo, who will be performing as M I M I at the FIBER Festival which is happening at de Brakke Grond, is a multitalented artist and DJ Based in Brussels. Within her work she explores the boundaries between the natural world and the humanmade, focusing on the impact of the anthropocene. Inspired by her African heritage & connection to nature she combines ethereal sounds and club music, resulting in experimental soundscapes, driving percussion & fast rhythms.
FIBER festival and Flemish Arts Centre de Brakke Grond invited Maria to perform at the symposium and also participate with an artist talk. Ahead of the festival, FIBER’s Chiara Pirola speaks with Maria and elaborates on her practice as a DJ, sound & visual artist and herbalist.
Photo by bizengabiz
Thank you for taking the time for us to get to know you. Could you briefly introduce your practice and how you situate yourself?
My multiple practices are tools that help me navigate and understand the World. I'm a very sensitive person on all types of levels, so every different medium that I use finds its power/source in a diversity of setups/stimuli. It's a constant dialogue with my environment, socially, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Therefore, I find it quite hard to "place myself", but I'd say a transdisciplinary artist feels suitable.
Thinking about field recording as foraging and considering your studies in herbalism, how do you relate sound and herbs? Are they both healing tools? And healing from what?
Herbalism has always run through my veins, as it's part of my ancestral heritage. From a very young age, I was introduced to working with nature. Growing up on a farm in Zambia, I spent most of my time in the garden with my father or my grandmother, observing them and absorbing their knowledge. My research and studies in herbalism are more scent-orientated. I use herbs to make specific herbal teas, but I mostly work with essential oils. From my own experience I find aromatherapy very powerful as it acts directly on the human nervous system. It improves the mood, relieves stress, promotes relaxation, alleviates pain, and overall supports health – properties that sound also has. I enjoy capturing the sound of my surroundings, especially when I'm travelling because it's a sonic trace that I can go back to. It's instant, and it does not require much, I like it. It allows me to be fully in the moment. No expectation.
In Greek the term "pharmakon" (φάρμακον) has several meanings; healing plant, poison or drug. What do you think about the ambivalent properties of plants and sounds? Do knowledgeable approaches and methods of care determine their beneficial results?
Indeed, it's important to mention that certain specific rules need to be taken into consideration in order to obtain "healing" properties from both tools. High exposure to certain compounds or wrong mixes can be very dangerous in the plant realm; (I've intoxicated myself multiple times already).
It's exactly the same with sounds. Some frequencies are known to have beneficial properties for the brain and others not. Our bodies are known to have the ability to respond to certain specific sound waves, like 440Hz for example. Sound is also a direct stimulus that we can't control, most of the time.
They are two factors that are important: volume and intensity. An example: One aspect that I find challenging whilst living in the city, is the exposure to a variety of sounds that are not pleasant at all. I sense them as "micro-aggression"... in the subway, on the streetwalk, in stores, venues… We should engage in a conversation about the sound of our cities sometime soon.
How much do you observe the audience, for example in a club, while you are performing? Do you notice the healing potential of the performance and the vibe of the crowd facilitated by you? Or is it more of a state of trance flow that you witness?
I don't really look at the audience when I'm performing (oops) & I hope that they don't spend their time on the dancefloor looking at me. The idea of being this entity in charge of the sounds feels more right. I think it allows more freedom, for myself and the audience. Therefore I always request that the light set up be as dark as possible and that I'm barely visible. That for me is the ultimate way to collectively get into a trance.
Photo by Chiara Steemans
You had spoken about a project where you collaborated with a healer and an architect towards building a world around us that has healing and empowering qualities. Can you tell me a bit more about this project? What role did sound play?
In November 2022, I collaborated with architect and artist Raùl Hott on his project called Radiante, which kicked off at Kunsthal Ghent (BE). Raùl being based in Santiago (Chile), we began working/researching together online until we finally met.
My role was to contribute sonically to the design of a charging ceremony. We organised the sound and heat as therapeutic agents within the space. I begin working with singing bowls, bells, and sound designs to create the first layer of the guided meditation. I had never done anything like that before but instinctively it made a lot of sense and was even therapeutic in the making. On top of that, I recorded his voice guiding the meditation step by step. I had to really imagine myself already in the space because the piece had to be in sync with how a person would move in the space.
I had to ask myself, things like how long does it take for someone to inhale/exhale in a meditative state? Or how many steps will it take for one person to reach the centre of the space? Stuff like that...The time factor was very important.
Did you address our other senses in this project?
We launched the project on November 13th at 11 am, with a brunch specially prepared by a chef (Tara Roelens). How we nourished our bodies was an essential component of this opening ceremony so the brunch had to be plant-based. The food menu was designed to boost a sense of well-being, feel vital, and recharge our energy. Which we believe are necessary elements to help us better experience the ceremony and meditation afterward.
After that, the first part included various exercises and group dynamics with an emphasis on developing sensory awareness around the stimuli of heat and sound. The second part of the mediation was the Buddhist Metta technique which was addressed to multiple benefactors including self, loved ones, and also towards the Earth. Allowing us to extend our consciousness collectively by sending kindness and love.
Raùl and I share the same vision and see Radiante as a new model and protocol of care for a planet in crisis. It's a long-term vision & a non-profit health-oriented organisation. The goal would be to create a center located in a natural environment, for the preservation and well-being of the biosphere and all beings. A collective project of unity: a constantly evolving/living organism.
You have played in many festival and club settings. What is your experience when incorporating sonic healing practices in such a setting? Have you observed more tension or openness/fluidity in the relationship between the organic and the electronic scene?
Most of the time I need to start my set by grounding myself therefore, I use organic sounds and field recordings to allow that. I've noticed that it had an interesting effect on the audience, some people leave imminently, and some stay. Either way, it's a must for me to begin the journey that way. I really appreciate when things are crescendo, building up towards a climax and obviously some spaces are fitter than others.
M I M I will perform at FIBER Festival’s symposium on Saturday May 13, at 12:00. Afterwards she will take part in the lecture programme. She is present in collaboration with de Brakke Grond. More information: https://www.fiberfestival.nl/symposium