what is hearing?

Cantele Francesca
osc~ (40.73.147.174.221.396.417.423.528.1090.2000.5000.8000)
Sound installation
2 speakers, 1 subwoofer
2023

This work focuses on the profound sense of listening, hearing with the body.The way we perceive sound is read bythe body through a special alphabet.It is no longer just our ears as the sense dedicated to hearing, but the body balanced in itsentirety.The experience of Sound is presented in this room as a pure momentof immersion in a sound-environment -as a concrete, living presence to caress our guts, our skin, to make ourbones vibrate by stimulating our cerebral apparatus. Sound is a part of our lives in a waythat is taken for granted and undervalued: listening as well, put aside or activated only when weare seeking silence.However, there are particular frequencies capable of deeply nourishing andstimulating our grey matter.At every moment of the day, our brain emanates differentfrequencies,depending on the task to which we are devoting ourselves: at this moment, yourbrain is mostly emanating beta activity, characteristic of active wakefulness. If, on the other hand,you are bored, most of the waves produced are alpha, typical of the moments before fallingasleep. Theta wavesare characteristic of dream activity during sleep,meditative states and creative activities. If you are in aparticularly euphoric or ecstatic state, youare instead producing gamma waves and during deep sleep, delta waves.This sound piece is composed by frequencies that are particularly beneficial to ourpsychophysical condition and others that can make us feel uncomfortable.Thesefrequencies are drawn from the studies conducted in 1978 by the swiss mathematician andmusic researcher Hans Cousto.