Nocturnal Walkthroughs: Not the Water That Flows Away, but the Water That Returns
Sensory perception experience with Luis Lecea Romera
14 November 2026 – 9 January 2027
The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza and TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary present a new edition of their nocturnal walkthroughs, this time featuring a new type of workshop in connection with Seba Calfuqueo’s exhibition CAUTÍN. Through listening, historical counternarrative, and performative action, the activities invite you to walk through the exhibition and see it with fresh eyes while reflecting on the connections between territory, identity, and memory.
Not the Water That Flows Away, but the Water That Returns is an experience of expanded sensory perception that connects the Cautín River in Chile to Madrid’s old network of underground aqueducts. Like reading lines on an open palm, the activity traces these hidden routes by means of recordings that articulate an audible multi-channel pulse as it moves upstream. Bone-conduction transducers convey vibrations that carry perception past the ear to other forms of sensory input, inviting a tactile mode of listening that explores the transformation of a water flow from a relational body into a claimable resource.
Luis Lecea Romera is an artist, composer, and researcher who divides his time between Amsterdam and Madrid. In his practice, he manipulates material and auditory spaces by means of installations, compositions, and performances. Using field recordings, archival audio, and speculative instrument construction, his art explores the affective and narrative capabilities of vibration and resonance in bodies, architectures, and landscapes. His work has been presented at Arti et Amicitiae (Amsterdam, NL), Sala de Arte Joven (Madrid, ES), CC Can Felipa (Barcelona, ES), SAVVY Contemporary (Berlin, DE), gnration (Braga, PT), and Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (Tenerife, ES), among other venues. He is currently conducting his doctoral research at Leiden University’s Sound Studies Center in the Netherlands with the support of a fellowship from the “la Caixa” Foundation. Contemporary (Berlin, DE), gnration (Braga, PT), Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (Tenerife, ES), among others. He is currently pursuing his doctoral research at the Sound Studies Center at Leiden University (NL), supported by a Fundación “la Caixa” fellowship.
Dates and times: November 14, 2026 and January 9, 2027, at 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM
Location: Exhibition space (floor -1), Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
Registration: Through the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza website
Access: Free activity with prior reservation*
Recommended age: All ages
Language: Spanish
Capacity: Groups of 25 people per session
* Participants registered for the Nocturnal Walkthroughs should approach the staff at the museum entrance and present their ticket for direct access. To ensure the tour begins on time, there is no need to join the general admission queue.
The public program for Seba Calfuqueo’s exhibition CAUTÍN is presented in collaboration with Centro Cultural de España in Santiago, Cineteca Nacional de Chile, Festival Eñe, Filmoteca Española, Museo de América, and Complutense University of Madrid, with funding from the National Fund for Cultural Development and the Arts (FONDART), and with Radio 3 and NUEBO as media partners.
