Navje_Sonic Archaeology of the Inner Voice

O, KAKŠEN SVET nevidenih vizij in slišanih tišin, ta neoprijemljiva dežela uma! Katera neizrekljiva bistva, ti neoprijemljivi spomini in nerazkazljiva sanjarjenja! In zasebnost vsega tega! Skrivno gledališče neslišnih monologov in predhodnih nasvetov, nevidna palača vseh razpoloženj, razmišljanj in skrivnosti, neskončno zatočišče razočaranj in odkritij. Celotno kraljestvo, kjer vsak izmed nas vladari osamljeno, sprašuje kar hoče, ukazuje kar more. Skrito zavetišče, kjer lahko raziskujemo zapleteno knjigo tega, kar smo storili in še lahko storimo. Introkozmos, ki je bolj jaz, kot karkoli lahko najdem v ogledalu. Ta zavest, ki je jaz med sebi, ki je vse, in hkrati nič — kaj je to?

In od kod je prišla?

In zakaj? [1]

Julian Jaynes nas v svoje delo Izvor zavesti v razpadu bikameralnega uma uvede s poetičnim nizom vprašanj o nevidnih vizijah in slišanih tišinah, ki raziskujejo zavest. Njegov uvod je služil kot navdih za prvotni performans na stopnišču Cukrarne. Stavbe, bogate z zgodovino, kjer so stene absorbirale zvočnost usod slovenskih modernih literatov.

Delo se sedaj premešča na novo lokacijo, park Navje v Ljubljani. Zvočni performans se prelevi v potopitev, v odmeve preteklosti, ko udeleženci s svojo aktivnostjo v parku ustvarjajo zvočno kuliso, ki iz nje izvabljajo shranjene pretekle vizije. Takó površine parka postanejo inštrument obiskovalcev, ki ozvočijo notranje glasove v/ iz besedil umetnikov, ki imajo zadnje počivališče na Navju in prožijo spomin na njih. S tem se odpira več vprašanj kot ponuja odgovorov, odražajoč Jaynesovo idejo o zavesti/spominu kot neoprijemljivem kraljestvu uma.

Tehnično jedro performansa vključuje zvočni senzor, programski algoritem in prilagojeno digitalizirano bazo besedil umetnikov Aškerca, Jurčiča, Groharja, Levstika, ki skupaj ustvarjajo kompleksno sonorično sliko iz zvočnih plasti in notranjih glasov.

Zasnova in izvedba: Spiro Mason Programski algoritem: dr. Rene Markovič Produkcija: Cona, 2024/25

O, WHAT A WORLD of unseen visions and heard silences, this insubstantial country of the mind! What ineffable essences, these touchless remembering’s and unshowable reveries! And the privacy of it all! A secret theater of speechless monologue and prevenient counsel, an invisible mansion of all moods, musings, and mysteries, an infinite resort of disappointments and discoveries. A whole kingdom. where each of us reigns reclusively alone, questioning what we will, commanding what we can. A hidden hermitage where we may study out the troubled book of what we have done and yet may do. An introcosm that is more myself than anything I can find in a mirror. This consciousness that is myself of selves, that is everything, and yet nothing at all — what is it?

And where did it come from?

And why? [1]

In The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, Julian Jaynes introduces us to a poetic series of questions about invisible visions and audible silences that explore consciousness. His introduction served as inspiration for the original performance on the staircase of Cukrarna – a building rich in history, where the walls have absorbed the sonorities of the fates of Slovene modernist writers.

The work is now presented in a new location, in Navje Park in Ljubljana. The sound performance transforms into an immersion into echoes of the past, as participants create a sonic landscape through walking, evoking stored visions from the park itself. In this way, all the surfaces of the park become instruments of the visitors, amplifying the silences. The work raises more questions than it answers, reflecting Jaynes’s idea of consciousness as an intangible realm of the mind.

The technical core of the performance involves a sound sensor, a software algorithm, and a digitised database of modernist poetry. Together, these elements create a complex sonic tapestry composed of layered sounds and the inner voices of the literati.

Concept and realisation: Spiro Mason Programme algorithm: Rene Markovič, PhD Production: Cona, 2024/25