Perceptrum - Who we are
We are Dora and Luciano, the collaborative minds behind the Sounding Canvas project. Our journey began when we met in Rome in 2013, and we now live and create in Barcelona, Spain.
Dora, an Iranian stage designer and engineer, conceived the idea of transforming static paintings into living, interactive beings. She envisioned breaking the traditional "do not touch" rule of art, inviting a deeper, multi-sensory engagement.
Luciano, an Italian physicist, sound engineer, and musician, brings the auditory dimension to life. Together, we craft interactive paintings that not only invite touch but respond with sound, fostering a unique dialogue between the artwork and its audience. These canvases can even communicate with each other across the internet, creating a globally connected experience.
Sounding Canvas: Our Project
The Sounding Canvases are interactive paintings that come alive through touch and respond with sound. Beyond individual interaction, they possess the unique ability to communicate over the internet. This means a touch on a Sounding Canvas in one geographic location (e.g., Spain) can instantly trigger a sonic response on another distant canvas (e.g., the UK), creating a truly global connection.
The relationship between your touch and the canvas's sonic response is far from trivial. It's not a simple one-to-one interaction; if you repeatedly touch the same spot, the canvas will not always produce the same sound. This is because each canvas is imbued with an intelligence that tracks the history of gestures, selecting the most appropriate sound to foster a dynamic dialogue with you. Visually, each canvas is the result of Dora's semiographic research, where she intricately fuses Persian characters with music notation. This artistic fusion serves as a profound metaphor for her life: the Persian characters represent her origins, while the music notation symbolizes her marriage with Luciano. Thus, the visual part is not merely abstract; it's driven by a formal procedure, ultimately constituting a new syntax for a new semantics – the holistic experience of the artwork itself.
Global Connections
A groundbreaking feature of the Sounding Canvas project is the ability for multiple canvases to be connected over the internet. This innovative network transcends geographical boundaries, allowing a touch event on one canvas in any part of the world to instantly trigger a sonic response on a peer canvas thousands of miles away.
This real-time, bidirectional interaction creates a truly profound and novel way for individuals to connect across vast distances through the universal languages of touch and sound. It fosters a unique shared interactive experience, enabling a non-verbal exchange of presence and emotion, making distant interactions feel intimate and deeply resonant.
To explore the full collection of our Sounding Canvases, please visit: Sounding Canvas Collection
For those interested in the intricate technology and the scientific principles behind these artworks, a detailed overview is available on our technical page: Technical Overview
The Sounding Canvas Cycle: Three Entangled Variations
Our collection of six Sounding Canvases forms a profound conceptual cycle, inviting viewers on a journey that begins with the upper-left canvas and culminates with the bottom-right*. This entire body of work is thoughtfully divided into two distinct series of three canvases each, exploring themes of presence, absence, and the subtle shifts in perception.
Within this cycle, each canvas finds its conceptual counterpart through a principle of 'variation.' We've meticulously paired them to reveal interconnected dialogues:
- Script of the Unsaid (Canvas 1) finds its variation in Room Full of Chords (Canvas 6).
- Echo of Lines (Canvas 2) resonates with Silent Score (Canvas 5).
- Rhythmic Interference (Canvas 3) is conceptually linked to Calligraph of Absence (Canvas 4).
This intricate pairing highlights how subtle shifts in form, color, and interaction can create entirely new meanings and experiences, inviting a deeper contemplation of the unseen forces that shape our reality.
Our Immediate Goal: The First Double Networked Exhibition
With our complete cycle of six Sounding Canvases, organized into two distinct series of three, we are setting our sights on an ambitious and unprecedented goal: to create the first "double exhibition" in history. This groundbreaking concept aims to redefine the boundaries of art exhibition by leveraging the networked capabilities of our artworks.
We envision finding two galleries in different geographic locations, each willing to host one of our series. The first series of three Sounding Canvases would be exhibited in one gallery, while the second series of three would be simultaneously displayed in another, distant gallery.
The core of this double exhibition lies in real-time, cross-location interaction. Visitors engaging with canvases in one gallery will trigger sonic responses in the other, and vice-versa. To enhance this immersive, shared experience, both galleries will be equipped with live cameras and monitors, allowing participants to visually witness the reactions and interactions occurring in the remote location.
We are actively seeking curators and gallery directors who share our vision and are willing to collaborate with us to bring this pioneering networked exhibition to life. If you are interested in being part of this unique artistic and technological endeavor, we invite you to connect with us.