Between Tongues
Sound installation 

Plexiglass, curtains, carpet, stools, wire, paper.
Sound and video loop, 40 min 
2026

The following is an excerpt of a text by Andreas Nilsson, curator at Moderna Museet Malmö.

Artist Clara Mosconi investigates the significance of language and geography in relation to identity. Here, we move from personal language into larger discussions about place. A particular interest for Mosconi is the concept of paralinguistics, the non-verbal elements in communication that accompany language. Tone, pitch, volume, rate, and pauses are used by the artist to accentuate overlooked linguistic potential. This also includes small sounds like sighs, gasps, and throat-clearings. Mosconi has developed her own paralinguistic index that she uses as a foundation for several works. The intuitive symbols she has designed underline the performative aspects of language, where the connection between body and sound become clear.

The artist is also interested in bilingualism and what this means for one’s identity. For the exhibition “The Sound Of”, Mosconi has produced a new spatial installation with the title “Mellem tunger” [Between Tongues] (2026). The work consists of two circular projection screens and a speaker, illuminating Mosconi’s relationship to bilingualism, hierarchies regarding who masters a language, and meetings across generations. As visitors, we participate in a conversation in Italian between the artist and her father–one’s learned second language, the other’s mother tongue. In the encounter, misunderstandings occur, but also connection and tenderness, which are reinforced by the birth of Mosconi’s daugther during the course of the work. The private relationship highlights linguistic aspects that are taken for granted by some, but that with others create an uncertainty.


The Sound of, Moderna Museet Malmö & Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde 2026
Photos: David Stjernholm and Helene Toresdotter