Audibility: A Sonic Exploration of Sound and Silence
In this avant-garde audio-visual work, HYENAZ propose a new cosmology of audibility and delve into the politics of sound, urging viewers to reevaluate what is considered "silent" or "silenced." The experience becomes a sensory journey, where the boundaries of speech and audibility are transcended, creating a playful and embodied connection between the listener and the speaker. The work interweaves field recordings, sonic manipulation, and performance, challenging conventional notions of authorship, consent, and animacy.


Filmed in an ancient man-made cave in the Murgia region of southern Italy, poet Donato Laborante delivers a poetic exploration of different forms of silence(s), holding in his hands the stalk of the Ferula Ferrita plant, an emblem of the Murgia’s unique ecology and of the artistic collaborations that had taken place there. The plant's presence becomes an integral part of the artwork, questioning the animacy of non-human and even non-Animal; inviting into our consciousness their ability to speak, and more importantly to provide consent to being part of an artwork.

Through their rigorous processes of deep listening and field recording, HYENAZ capture the inherent sonic richness of their environment, transforming these raw sounds into a tapestry of auditory experiences. Their work encourages us to question the neutrality of sound archiving, recognizing the transformative power of manipulating and reinterpreting recorded sounds.

HYENAZ posit that archived sounds, whether human, non-human, animate, or inanimate, acquire a new existence, becoming intersubjective entities with the potential to give or withhold consent. They advocate for a respectful approach towards the auditory realm, acknowledging the agency of each sound source and its place within the broader sonic landscape.

Challenging traditional notions of audibility, HYENAZ propose a framework that extends beyond mere volume. They suggest that audibility is deeply political and involves the willingness of the listener to hear differently; that this process is a mutual co-practice of speaking and listening and challenges the entire sonic environment to relate otherwise. This is intertwined with embodied, somatic experiences, requiring a shift in our listening practices and a willingness to embrace the subtle nuances of sound and language.

Audibility invites us to engage with silence not as a void, but as a dynamic and multifaceted presence. They implore us to listen attentively, to seek out the whispered voices that emerge from the depths of silence–even to hear silence as something other than what we think it is–and to recognize the profound interplay between sound and silence in shaping our understanding of the world.