Sonic Diplomacy

Interspecific sound experiences involving Humans and non Humans

To come

“Somebody is down there!” we exclaimed the first time we tested our soil listening device and opened our ears to the subterranean worlds. There is life under the ground, tons of inhabitants (animals, earthworms, insects, micro-organisms,…) occupied with existences of which we know very little. Plunging our ears into these underground territories forces us to consider an invisible and silent world that is nevertheless the very condition of our survival on earth. Listening to this life invites to a better understanding of these still unknown worlds and raises questions about the beings that inhabit them. This curiosity and the questions it generates are the first steps towards consideration. From this starting point can then perhaps be born what is called at the time of the Anthropocene, “adjusted consideration” or an interspecific diplomacy. Engaging in diplomacy on the terms of an inter specific creation means wishing for an end to the devastating dualism that has put nature and culture back to back, neutralizingthe living and turning our natural territories into reserves of consumable materials. It also means reviving the act of creation in its vital and essential dimension, formulating current answers to urgent questions.

Sonic Diplomacy at Klaipeda contemporary museum 2023