TAC(I)ET - implied silence

TAC(I)ET : implied silence (20-30min) 

The Tacet Friction Harp whose shape echoes a stereocilia hair-cell bundle found inside the cochlea, was made in collaboration with percussion maker Matt Nolan. Its 14 rods are tuned to Lola’s spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (SOAEs). These were recorded at the Hudspeth Lab of Sensory Neuroscience, Rockefeller University, NY, by the late Neuroscientist James Hudspeth and Brian Fabella, and won a Sound of the Year Award in 2024.

Often mistaken as producing an electronic sound, the tacet harp is entirely acoustic. The aim is not to endure its sound but to participate and enhance the experience by tilting the head off-axis, a journey guided by the ears. Its perceived directness and loudness seems to defy its sometimes dizzying effects, exposing the non-linearity of the ear and leading to auditory illusions or ‘ear tones’, a term coined by Maryanne Amacher describing psychoacoustic phenomena related to difference and combination tones.

Exploring with tactility its individual components including but not limited to, its tuned aluminium rods, opens up space for free play. One that can be solitary (Barbican 12/25), or as a duet with a dancer (FAT OUT Fest11/25). While the performance contexts will undoubtedly expand, I will experiment further with an exhibition format at Sonorities Festival 2026, where the harp will take the form of a sculpture installation open to audience interaction.