Two people sit at opposite ends of a wooden table with their heads resting on their hands, viewing a framed photograph of a similar scene on the wall in an art gallery.

Listening curated by Sam Belinfante

A pioneering exhibition investigates the act of listening in contemporary visual art

Curated by artist and musician Sam Belinfante, the exhibition examined the crossover between the visual and the sonic, with many of the artists working in both the fields of contemporary music and art.

Highlights in the exhibition included Hannah Rickards’ Thunder, a clap of thunder that has been stretched in duration and aurally dissected, recreated by musicians and morphed back into a thunderclap; an anechoic chamber by Haroon Mirza that silences the outside world; a dynamic sound installation by Laure Prouvost choreographing a dialogue between lights and objects in a museum; and Prem Sahib’s throbbing inaccessible disco.

Ed Atkins made new drawings in response to Listening; Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller allowed us to eavesdrop on a drama in cabin in a forest; and Katie Paterson presented the almost inaudible sound of a dying star.

The act of listening touches and folds into the other senses and can therefore work in tandem with, as well as contradict them. The exhibition included a variety of media from drawings and sculpture to prints and video. Works ranged dramatically in duration from less than a second to six hours, and were orchestrated so that visitors were guided through the exhibition and works were allowed to ‘speak’ in turn.

Listening is a collaboration with BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead; the Bluecoat, Liverpool; Site Gallery and Sheffield Institute of Arts; Norwich University of the Arts; and Art Exchange and Firstsite, Colchester.

Hayward Touring Curatorial Open

The aims of the Curatorial Open are to support UK-based curators in realising innovative contemporary art exhibitions, to introduce a new avenue of access into the Hayward Touring programme and to foster collaborative working with partner venues across the UK.

The first Hayward Touring Curatorial Open exhibition, Quiet Revolution opened in 2009 and was curated by Chris Fite-Wassilak. The second series was Ground Level curated by Kit Hammonds in 2010.

Curated by

Listening is curated by Sam Belinfante for Hayward Touring’s third Curatorial Open. Belinfante is an artist and academic, living and working in London and Leeds. Along with filmmaking and photographic work, his practice includes curating, sound and performance.

Featured artists

Ed Atkins, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Mikhail Karikis, Ragnar Kjartansson, Lina Lapelyte, Christian Marclay, Haroon Mirza, Max Neuhaus, Katie Paterson, Amalia Pica, Laure Prouvost, Hannah Rickards, Prem Sahib, Anri Sala, Imogen Stidworthy and Carey Young.