If We Vanish - In Search of Natural Silence

In March 2022, sound artists Nikhil Nagaraj (Bangalore) and Felix Deufel (Germany)  along with their documentation team from Germany Phil Jungschlaeger and Xenia Gorodnia embarked on a 40-day expedition to map the sounds of some of the last pristine places in India before they vanish entirely. From the western ghats to the high-altitude cold deserts of the Himalayas, they went hiking in mountain forests, climbed high altitudes of over 4500 metres, and recorded about 434 hours of soundscapes in different 3D audio formats.

If We Vanish is a presentation of sonic and visual data as an immersive art installation.

A listening room using a 32-speaker 3D sound system, immerses the visitors in tropical rainforests of south and north east India or the arid mountain landscape of the Himalayas and invites you to experience three separate classes of sound - biophony: produced by non human life forms, geophony: non biological natural sound, and anthrophony: human generated noise. A scenic video installation introduces the mystical dimension that resonates around these remaining pristine natural regions.

© Nikhil Nagaraj

Nikhil Nagaraj is a sound designer, engineer and musician. His interest explores the amalgamation between electronic and acoustic music, combining traditional Indian music styles with contemporary classical and electronic concepts in his compositions and transformations with spatial sound to create surrealistic experiences through the use of sensors and 3D soundscapes. Nikhil is a founding member of 12 Hz Sound Laboratories, a centre for research and technology for immersive media in Bangalore, India. 

© Felix Deufel

Felix Deufel is a sound designer and audio engineer specialised in 3D Audio applications and productions. His passion is recording, composing and designing unique sounds and music for spatialized scenarios. He plans and operates 3D sound systems for live concerts and venues. Felix is the founder of Not a Number GmbH and initiator of the ZiMMT (Centre for immersive Media art, Music and Technology).

Credits:
A project by Nikhil Nagaraj and Felix Deufel
Photography and videography: Phil Jungschlaeger and Xenia Gordonia
Project manager: Spriha Nakhare

The exhibition opens May 6, 2022 at 6.00 p.m. and is on display until May 10, 2022 between 12 noon and 9.00 p.m.

Entry free.

This project has been developed with the support of the International Coproduction Fund of the Goethe-Institut, Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore and the Prince Claus Fund.