By focusing on the ear as founding element, and by linking
it to the ability of sight and of spatial perception, the
works of Akitsugu Maebayashi trigger constantly the communication
between the user and the Other. _$B!-_(BAudible Distance"
(1997, at ICC), one of his most significant creations, is
a very good example of this interaction. Three subjects,
all equipped with virtual goggles, sensors of cardiac activity
and broadcasting instrumen...[ more ]
The users are equipped with a mobile sound computer and
headphones. On their way through the city the computer records
and plays back the sound environment, sometimes immediately,
sometimes delayed, sometimes distorted, creating a break
between the visual and sonic perception of reality.
According to Jacques Lacan, the defenseless ear is
the "only orifice which the field of consciousness cannot
shut off". As an organ closely related to the brain, it
not only perceives the ambient sounds but also infl...[ more ]
