“While a picture might be worth a thousand words, a soundscape is worth a thousand pictures.” As the musician and soundscape ecologist Bernie Krause once said, sound is more than just waves of vibration ― it may as well be a certain feeling, emotion or memory in one’s body. This is the essence of what the sound art exhibition SOUNDMUSEUM tries to convey to its viewers. With its diverse collection of interactive sound installations, SOUNDMUSEUM is more than just an exhibition; it is a redefinition of the concept of sound as an art form.

Situated in the Daelim Museum (D MUSEUM) in Hannam-dong, SOUNDMUSEUM is a large-scale sound art exhibition that consists of 13 sound spaces, each created by a different globally acclaimed artist. With a total of 22 works presented through sound installations, audience-driven performances, interactive sound installations, light art and visual music, SOUNDMUSEUM inspires viewers – or rather, listeners – to create, imagine, and remember. Although sound art may be a fairly new concept to most, the exhibition will not only familiarize the audience to the genre of sound art, but also reintroduce them to the sense of hearing.

A Rediscovery of Sound

In modern-day society, sound is considered a hindrance, a “noise” that disrupts the tranquility of daily life. Most sounds today either go unnoticed and ignored or carry negative connotations. However, the rising genre of sound art attempts to slowly but surely defy these preconceptions. Upon hearing the term “art,” most will automatically think of visual art, neatly framed and hung up on the walls of museums; very few will associate the term “art” with sound. This is what makes the exhibition SOUNDMUSEUM one of a kind. In a world where sound is grossly underappreciated, SOUNDMUSEUM teaches its audience to embrace sound instead of tuning it out.

As unfamiliar as the genre of sound art is, the exhibition will be something the audience has never seen ― or rather, heard. D MUSEUM claims to always have attempted bold transformations with each exhibition that it hosts ― and SOUNDMUSEUM certainly lives up to their words. As opposed to visual art, sound art is an artistic discipline that utilizes sound as a primary medium. Sound art pieces may present sound in a visual form, or vice versa. The audience need not worry about their unfamiliarity or lack of knowledge about sound art. With an open mind and ears, anyone can enjoy the auditory delights that the exhibition has in store.

From Audience to Artist

One notable aspect that the audience can look forward to is SOUNDMUSEUM’s interactivity, which is best embodied through artist David Helbich’s audience-led performance piece where he invites listeners to become the artist themselves. Not more than five minutes into the exhibition, the audience will find themselves on a silent stage divided into three parts by curtains. Each space has a screen showing the artist himself talking to an imaginary audience, in which he instructs them to pull, tap, or press on their ears. By following his instructions, the audience can create sound and rhythm out of silence and enjoy the experience of becoming an active part of the exhibition.

Another interactive sound installation by Lab212, named Portée, breaks down the boundary between audience and artist. By pulling one of the many glowing string-like installations that connect the floor and the ceiling, the audience can set off a harmonious chord from an auto-playing grand piano. Through a simple movement of the fingers, the audience becomes the composer, manipulating both space and sound from their fingertips. Whereas most traditional exhibitions have a clear-set distinction between the role of the artist and that of the audience, interactive sound installations in SOUNDMUSEUM invite the audience to make a bold leap across the two roles.

A Literal Stroll through Sound

A surprising discovery many will make in this exhibition is the ability of sound to generate physical space. “Sounds orient the body in space and even guide our visual interpretations of our surroundings,” says Robin Minard, one of the artists featured in the exhibition. Indeed, just as we perceive space with our eyes, we can also perceive space with our ears. MONOM’s 4D sound installation Lost Spaces: Rainforest Variations presents a low-lit room with recordings of rainforest sounds, such as those of tropical birds or insects, playing from every direction. This gives the audience the impression of being transported to the middle of an actual rainforest, through nothing but auditory perception.

Whereas the previous installation is a demonstration of physical space, Kristin Oppenheim’s vocal installation Sail on, Sailor manages to create emotional space within the audience. In the middle of the exhibition, the audience will find themselves in a pitch-dark room with nothing to see or hear save Oppenheim’s lullaby-like voice recording of song lyrics. Melancholy to some and alluring to others, this vocal installation is meant to awaken whatever individual memories or emotions of the listener that the sound evokes.

While the sound of Oppenheim’s voice may be limited to the four walls of the dark room where the speakers are installed, the emotional resonance of the installation will linger throughout the rest of the exhibition to the point where it is almost haunting. The vocal installation has created an emotional space within ― which, unlike physical space, one cannot run away from. It will then dawn on the listener that while sound itself may be transient, its power to inspire and evoke is resonant. The physical vibration of sound waves may fleet away, but the memory and emotion it has awakened will not.

Through a surprising variety of sound installations, SOUNDMUSEUM will take the audience on a stroll through their inner soundscape in which they will be reintroduced to all preconceptions about sound. While the sounds in the exhibition may be confined to the concrete walls of D MUSEUM, its emotional resonance will indeed stay with the audience long after they leave the exhibition.

Exhibition Information

Title: SOUNDMUSEUM

Venue: Daelim Museum

Period: From May 19 to December 27, 2020

Opening Hours: 10:00 A.M. to 06:00 P.M. (From Tuesday to Sunday) 10:00 A.M. to 08:00 P.M. (From Friday to Saturday)

Price: 15,000 won for adults, 7,000 won for students, 5,000 won for children