Hear

Mikhail Somov is a sound artist whose work looks at how people listen to the spaces and objects around them. His installation hear brings together everyday objects, recorded sound and a set of simple scores that ask visitors to interact with sounds they might normally pass without noticing.

Mikhail Somov in conversation with Listen Closer

What first led you to the idea for hear?

The idea came from noticing how quickly we tend to move through everyday life. When that happens, a lot of smaller sounds disappear into the background. We stop paying attention to quieter details and to the sounds produced by familiar objects around us. With hear, I wanted to create a space where people could spend a little more time with those sounds and become more aware of what they would usually overlook.

How does the installation actually work when someone enters the space?

Inside the booth are a number of familiar everyday objects and three different scores. Visitors choose one of the scores and follow its instructions, using the objects around them to produce or notice different sounds. The scores are there to guide the experience, rather than dictate it. They give people something specific to listen for and a reason to pay closer attention to the sounds created through simple actions.

When you decided to turn the installation into a video, what was the main difficulty?

The main challenge was translating something designed as a three-dimensional physical experience into a format that would be watched through a screen. Inside the installation, visitors are surrounded by the room, the objects and the analogue sounds they produce. When someone watches the video, they only have the image on screen and whatever headphones or speakers they are using. I had to think about how much of the original experience could still come through in that format.

How did you approach recording the sound for the video?

I recorded every sound using professional stereo microphones and usually made several takes of each one. I then selected the recordings that worked best and synchronised them carefully with the visuals. A lot of attention went into making sure the sound felt as clear and present as possible. The video cannot reproduce the installation exactly, but I wanted someone watching it to understand how the work functions: the objects, the scores, the actions they prompt and the sounds they produce.