Soft Signs | film (15min53), 16/9, stereo
” Quantum Listening is listening in as many ways as possible simultaneously. As you listen, the particles of sound decide to be heard. It is a symbiotic relationship. As you listen, the environment is enlivened. One focuses on a point and changes that point by listening.” Pauline Oliveiros
Somewhere between documentary and speculative fiction, Soft signs follows artist Mathias Arrignon’s attempt to explore alternative uses for a laser speckle imaging device, originally designed to measure, listen and record cardiovascular vibrations for medical purposes. Directing the beam of this optical microphone towards various surfaces, objects and living matter, he hopes to hear call signs beyond the noise floor and to feel subtle sounds in the fringe of the audible spectrum. Interwoven with the voices of Marija Vaskevičiūtė, researcher in optical imaging, and Kevin Mitchell, researcher in computational imaging, this film unfolds a particular culture of attention that seeks to discern signals that lie outside the range of human perception.
With the support of:
Bilyana Palankasova
University of Glasgow
Quantum ARC
The Extreme Light Group
Thinking Culture
Sandbox
private streaming link on request