噪—Noise
This project uses visual and auditory expressions to explore the impact of specific everyday sounds on my hearing (Hearing impaired). Drawing inspiration from Kali Malone's 'Does Spring Hide Its Joy' live performance at the Purcell Room, I investigate how sound influences my auditory perception through black-and-white films and live sound-making performances. The Birmingham School of Art exhibition invites the audience to experience my auditory world through a combination of art films and live performances, showcasing how everyday sounds shape my hearing and behaviour.
噪(zao)-‘Noise’ is the most common sound I hear in my daily life. When I wear hearing aids, there is always a low background noise in my ears, whether the environment is quiet or noisy. This ubiquitous ‘noise’ is not only the way I interact with external sounds, but also my unique perception of the world. Through this project, I invite the audience to enter my auditory world, to experience sounds that people may ignore, but that are incredibly real to me. Through the combination of sight and sound, I hope to show how noise has shaped my everyday life and auditory perception.
Even when the alarm goes off, I can't hear it. This lack of sound makes me feel a unique silence, which itself becomes a ‘noise’.
—Alarm clock
The sound of boiling water is low to me, as if it were a bass tone from far away, muffled, but it echoes in my head for a long time.
—Boiling water
In contrast, the sound of water running is high pitched, it is harsh and clear, like a background noise that breaks the silence, abrupt and unmissable.
—Water running
On the football field, I could only hear the wind and the sound of striking the ball, while the shouts of my teammates disappeared into the wind, as if their voices had been swallowed up by the ‘noise’.
—Playing football
As I lay in bed, the shrill sound of my hearing aids being squeezed pierced the silence of the night, a sound I couldn't ignore, an approaching ‘noise’.
—Lying in the bed
—No hearing aids
Without hearing aids, tinnitus became my background noise, an inescapable sound that felt like an undercurrent in my world.
FULLY VIDEO
YUAN WANG
噪—Noise (2024)
Film 17mins 44sec
Exhibition in
Birmingham school of art
I started my first rehearsal, this one was mainly to figure out the different sounds in the Daily life video, the different sounds to simulate with different props, and how to switch props according to the video footage. Also I had to practice the sound size which is important for my listening experience.
I categorised these props into three main categories, the first being sound props 1 at home, the second being sound props 2 at the pitch playing football, and the third being props 3 for other sounds, which were set up on three separate tables. This helped me to go through the process of making the sounds.
This is a simulation of the bass noise I hear in the air with my hearing aids.
I collected discarded hearing aid batteries and put them in a balloon to simulate the sound of boiling water.
I pour some water into a red wine glass and create a tinnitus-like sound by dipping my finger in a bit of water and rubbing the mouth of the glass.
This is the electric razor I carry with me, which serves as a prop for the sound of shaving.
The subtle bass noise I hear when the environment is quiet.
It's a balloon. It's used to simulate the sound of a hit.
It's a hair dryer to simulate the sound I would hear the wind blowing against my hearing aids when I was kicking a ball.
This tube is used to hit balloon sounds, simulate door slamming and other impact sounds.
This is an empty plastic water bottle, which is squeezed to simulate the sound of water running.
This is my collection of stone pellets in a box, I use my football boots to rub and hit the stones to simulate the sound of me running on the pitch!
I often massage my muscles with a fascia gun, which I use to hit balloons to simulate the sound of a massage.
I use playing cards to make the sound of playing cards.
Prepare to record
I asked Ana (Workshop staff) to help me set up the lighting and video equipment, I need to record the foley sound-making performance art in advance and merge it with the daily life video to play at the same time in the exhibition, the purpose of doing this is that after I finish the first performance art performance, I won't perform it again, and after that, the attention to my art can come to see how I make sound through the two videos. Afterwards, those who come to see my art can use these two videos to learn about how I make sound.
Second rehearsal
As the previous rehearsal didn't go very well, my two football friends and I didn't work very well together and didn't divide the workload wisely. So I wanted to rehearse again, but this time it was different because I got my two classmates, Mia and Louise, as they are more professional and dedicated in performing arts, and then I carefully allocated the sounds and production process that each person would produce, to the extent that I could perform a more professional performance art to the audience at the exhibition.