Louis-Olivier Desmarais

PAX is an immersive work that brings together music, sound art, and spatialization in a minimalist contemplative experience. Presented either as an audiovisual installation or as a purely sonic listening environment, it invites a slowing down and a renewed attentiveness to listening.

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Born from stays in the silent atmosphere of a Benedictine abbey, the project transposes a space of reflection into the heart of the urban fabric. PAX offers an immersion into musical landscapes inspired by silence and the resonance of a place—an invitation to turn inward through listening to what surrounds us.

At the core of the approach is a research into sound spatialization as a living, evolving experience. The system is designed without an ideal listening point: it is through movement that each visitor composes their own perception of the work. This approach was notably developed during a residency at the Metalab of the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT), where PAX was adapted for a 58-channel speaker system, incorporating the SAT’s audiodices and exploring the coexistence of concentric and eccentric structures.

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First presented at the Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur in Montreal in 2022, PAX has since been shown in various forms, notably at the SAT and at the PHI Centre. Each iteration involves an adaptation of the mix and the setup, extending the reflection on listening, space, and perception.

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PAX is part of a practice at the intersection of installation, music, and sound art, where listening becomes both an intimate and shared act.