Wednesday Walkthrough: Sung Tieu

Installation view of Sung Tieu, Song for Unattended Items, Royal Academy of Arts, 2018.
Installation view of Sung Tieu, Song for Unattended Items, Royal Academy of Arts, 2018.

Due to concerns around COVID-19, Nottingham Contemporary has closed temporarily with immediate effect, and this event is cancelled. Although this situation results from circumstances beyond our control, we want to apologise for any inconvenience this cancellation may cause. For more information, please see our Coronavirus Update.

Join us for a Wednesday Walkthrough – a gallery tour where artists, researchers and curators share their unique perspectives on our exhibition.

In this walkthrough, Olivia Aherne, Assistant Curator at Nottingham Contemporary, and auditory scientist Christian Sumner discuss their collaboration with the artist Sung Tieu for the exhibition In Cold Print. The conversation expands on the impact sound can have on the brain, ears and to physical and psychological well-being by exploring “Havana Syndrome”. Reported from late 2016, Havana Syndrome describes a phenomenon where US embassy staff reported hearing high-pitched sounds, ultimately manifesting in brain injuries, and was believed by President Trump’s administration to be a sound weapon. The talk explores media coverage and scientific research, and shares insights into how Tieu exposed herself to an acoustic reconstruction of the supposed sound weapon to record her cerebral activity, which features within the exhibition.

Free. Drop in. Gallery seating and hearing loops are available.

Christian Sumner is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. He became interested in how the brain processes sound because it could do what computers could not: we effortless perceive separate “auditory objects”, to understand a single talker amidst the noise of modern life. Sumner seeks to understand how the brain performs this task, often by building computer simulations.

Supported by:

Cookie Consent