A voice means this: throat, chest, feelings
MFA Exhibition

Is language tied to identity? What happens if you lose your language, or no longer have access to the language you once knew? Can you even have a relationship if you don’t share a common language?

These are some of the questions that formed the basis for the exhibition A voice means this: throat, chest, feelings. The exhibition stems from the experience of slowly losing grip with a second language, of building relationships outside of rational language, and of asking questions about what a mother tongue is and what it means.

The exhibition is presented in two parts: The first part invites you inside an immersive 32-channel sound installation, where each symbol from a paralinguistic index is presented, improvised and repeated by a curious voice through 32 speakers. In the second part, conversations with three interviewees unfold about bilinguality in a video installation.

A core concept for the exhibition is paralinguistics. The term covers the uncontrolled, non-verbal language that runs parallel to our rational language. As I have tried to define the paralinguistic concept, it has revealed a large field on the periphery of what is perceived as being language.

A voice means this: throat, chest, feelings is an attempt to bring paralinguistic language to light. The exhibition examines what it means to communicate, how the paralinguistic language moves in the body and what we can use it for – because it is undeniably a part of being human. And maybe it reveals more about us than we think.

April to May 2023, Gallery KHM1, Malmö

Paralingual Index no. 1, 2023. Speaker unit, cable, vinyl. 32-channel sound installation, 16:45 min.

Paralingual Index no. 1, 2023. 32-channel sound installation, 16:45 min. Installation view. A voice means this: throat, chest, feelings, 2023. Video installation, 25:59 min. Installation view.