Arrhythmia

In his book Rhythmanalysis, Henri Lefebvre emphasizes that rhythms permeate all aspects of life, from the biological rhythms of the body to broader social and political rhythms, such as the flow of labor and the cycles of production and consumption. He argues that to understand society, we must also understand its rhythms, because they are deeply tied to power, control, and lived experience.

For Lefebvre, ‘arrhythmia’ is more than just a state of physical dissonance; it is a socio-political condition. The relentless pace of capitalist processes—marked by rigid schedules and the imperative to constantly produce—clashes with the body's slower, cyclical rhythms. The result is a profound sense of dislocation and dissonance, both on an individual and societal level. This arrhythmic state, Lefebvre argues, is symptomatic of broader societal ailments, where the rhythms of life are dictated not by natural processes, but by the mechanical, linear time imposed by capitalist systems.

Arrhythmia examines the collision of environmental and socio-political rhythms through an exhibition curated by Niki Danai and Niki Maria Lore, and a programme of experimental sound performances curated by the collective “plusplusplus”.