Through immersive audio, digital portraiture, and the presence of the audience, the work explores how power is remembered, represented, and embodied in contemporary society.
At the heart of PORTRAIT lies a reflection on public memory. While our cities are still largely marked by statues and monuments celebrating men, Tjørnhøj proposes a new form of commemoration: digital monuments that honour influential women and create space for broader, more diverse perspectives on leadership and visibility.
The work unfolds through a series of digital portraits featuring remarkable women whose voices and experiences shape the installation. Among them are violinist and concertmaster of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra Christina Åstrand, Birgitte Qvist-Sørensen, Board Chair of KVINFO and previous General Secretary of DanChurchAid, and Henriette Laursen, CEO of KVINFO. Their reflections on leadership challenge traditional ideals and instead highlight trust, care, dialogue, inclusiveness, and the value of many different ways of leading.
Tjørnhøj also includes her own self-portrait, addressing questions of agency, ageing, and the representation of women beyond dominant ideals. By claiming visibility on her own terms, she confronts the narratives that continue to shape how women are seen in public and private life.
Musically, PORTRAIT consists of four interconnected sound works—one for each portrait—created from everyday sounds such as eating, embroidery, urban environments, and nature, all woven into a larger sonic composition.
Developed in collaboration with In-Discourse and the XR/AR studio MANND, PORTRAIT combines spatial sound with volumetric 3D recordings and augmented reality technologies.
PORTRAIT launches at SPOT Festival May 1–2 where the installation is open daily from 12:00–16:00 in Teater Refleksion, Aarhus, where entrance is free for all. Afterwards the work is available as an app for download.