De-sensing as a way of activation for expanded listening in the sound art

Abstract

The continuous naturalization of environmental sounds developed through selective listening has contributed to different processes of sensory training, which define as noise anything that disturbs or prevents a quick and inattentive transit, in a world that discards contemplation.

Faced with this systematic deafening, processes of expanded and empathetic listening emerge from sound art. These processes are related to the activation of the perception of those soundscapes, stories and narratives that have been discarded.

This brief text aims to investigate some of the ways in which sound art has confronted the silencing of the environment. Thus, through the concept of de-sensing, the idea is to explore how different sound strategies contribute to destabilize the neutralization of social ear. The concept opens the door to a set of hybrid productions that challenge selective listening and sonically validate the noise that transforms our dwelling in the world.