Curated by Arter's Founding Director, Melih Fereli, Arter's "audio series" series includes the "For Listening Eyes" and "Rainforests V (variation 3) exhibitions". Arter brings together works that establish a strong connection with music and sound in this series with an interdisciplinary understanding of art.
The third exhibition of Arter's “audio series” series, For Listening Eyes, focuses on understanding how we relate to the visual world around us in terms of sound and raising our awareness of the inner role that sound plays in art. The group exhibition includes works, many of which have a strong musical connection. Taking reference from John Cage's experimental approach of blending silence with natural music and various Fluxus artists, the exhibition invites visitors to discover and imagine the "sounds" evoked by the works in the general silence prevailing in the gallery space. The playlist titled La Cage Musicale [Music Cage] presented in connection with the exhibition also provides an interactive experience between the audience and the work.
Within the scope of “Sound Series”, within the acoustics of Arter Karbon's sound installations and concert hall, Melih Fereli's performances with David Tudor and Composers Inside Electronics Inc. A self-performing exhibition titled “Rainforests V (variation 3)”, designed in collaboration with The hall features 20 objects hanging from the high ceiling such as large floats, plastic barrels, copper tub, plant pot, and badminton racket. These objects vibrate with signals from variously manipulated and combined and pre-recorded audio files, creating a sound environment that continues to evolve in a way that is open to audience exploration.
The exhibitions "For the Listening Eyes" and "Rainforests V (variation 3)", which are held simultaneously in Arter, are closely related to each other through the concept of "sound and silence". In this sense, Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU) Faculty of Fine Arts (GSF) Department of Communication and Design lecturer Res. See. Büşra Kamacıoğlu also expressed her thoughts on the exhibition:
In Arter's exhibition experiences as part of the "silent series", music emerges as the universal language covered by all arts, transformed into sounds. Although the concept of sound and silence may seem like opposites of each other, they are two concepts that cover and affect each other. Deep silence is a state of being the loudest. Sound is a discovery and sometimes we perceive the voices in our minds and hearts much better in silence. Colors and objects accompany us in this exploration. In this sense, the exhibitions “For the Listening Eyes” and “Rainforest V (variation 3)”, which are in close dialogue with each other, offer us a beautiful environment for exploration. The avant-garde composer John Cage, known for his creative compositions and unconventional ideas, took a similar stance on sound, drawing on both his Zen philosophy and Marcel Duchamp's tendency to define common objects as works of art. This series of Arter, based on his experimental approach in which silence is blended with natural music and works, allows us to explore and imagine the "sounds" evoked by the works in the prevailing general silence.”
