Bensen Thomas
Import is a durational sound work designed to function as a modular bodily attachment through the affective potential of sonic materials.
The work references various interpretations of the contemporary body, from what is contained within the skin to post-biological theories of bodily global expansion and cyborgism. Through these theories, sounds were chosen to interact with the body/ies of the listener(s), highlighting body ‘parts’ through affect and resonance and rendering a new bodily amalgam through the thoughts and feelings of those who choose to attach and import. The sonic materials were built through iterative experimentation; I tested various sonic elements on my own body by feeding environmental, synthesised, sampled and bodily sounds through processors and then back into myself, forming works out of my physical responses that are intended to physically affect the audience. The work is best encountered through headphones or, if accessible, a large high-fidelity speaker system. Listening through headphones will be an isolated and more immersive experience, while through speakers the sound will make the immediate environment part of the work, so it resonates with the space and the listener.
Import, 2020
Sound
54 minutes 8 seconds
