The Listening Canvas

'The Listening Canvas' is an interactive sound installation that invites audiences to discover the sounds of found objects by way of engaging in tactile interactions with organic (grains, leaves, stems) and synthetic (plastics, cardboard, fabric) matter within an open canvas. This sound installation displays a canvas made of multiple synthetic materials surrounded by hanging found objects. Audiences are invited to produce sounds by touching the surface of the canvas with their hands or with leaves and other vegetal materials provided. This tactile interaction is captured by contact microphones placed on the verso of the canvas. The sounds are modified and diffused in real time through two transducers attached to hanging found objects used as resonators, such as a frying pan and a watering can. The installation enables a two-sided experience in which listening and sound-making are equally encouraged. The aim of this artwork is to engage wide audiences, including adults and children, in experimental sound-making and active listening practices. They will be offered the opportunity to actively participate by way of touching art objects in display, which is traditionally forbidden in exhibition spaces. The organic and synthetic matter used to produce sounds through the canvas surface is explored sonically in a way that fosters different modes of listening, challenging boundaries between nature and culture towards an ecofeminist configuration.