Uncertainty as Sounds of Resistance
Maria Thrän

The Georgetown Steam Plant, located on the traditional land of the Duwamish people, stands as more than an industrial relic. It symbolizes the complex interplay between industrial development, labor rights, and environmental justice. By situating this installation within the Steam Plant, I aim to explore the historical and contemporary struggles that have shaped Seattle’s identity, particularly the role of protest as a form of acoustic resistance advocating for justice and equality.

Uncertainty as Sounds of Resistance connects the lost natural habitat and the diverse sounds of the Duwamish land with the echoes of resistance movements. Through voices, field recordings, resonant frequencies, and amplified protest rhythms, the installation transforms the Steam Plant into a reflective space—where the impacts of colonization, industrialization, and social defiance converge.

It is through sound and space that I resist the erasure of these histories—highlighting the tension between exploitation and resilience. Rather than speaking for those displaced, I aim to create an environment that asks how sound can serve as a form of reclamation and invite reflection on justice, connection, and the ongoing fight for equality. 



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Maria Thrän (Eisenach 1984) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Seattle and Berlin, currently pursuing a Ph.D. at DXARTS at the University of Washington. They explore the intersection of art, research, and technology, using sound, voice modulation, field recordings, and video to create immersive installations that examine the connections between sound, language, politics, and nature. Driven by the current zeitgeist, political landscape, and their personal history, particularly the peaceful protests in the former GDR, Maria's work delves into the performative act of protest and oral storytelling through analog and digital media. They question which stories get told, who tells them, and why, while exploring speculative storytelling inspired by thinkers like Saidiya Hartman. Maria has exhibited internationally in cities such as Marfa, TX (US), Minsk (BLR), Prague (CZ), Berlin (DE), Milan (IT), and Frankfurt am Main (DE).



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