Ear Action

Ear action is an exploration of the space between hearing and feeling. In the one-to-one performance, a composition is played on noise-cancelling headphones worn by the guest. The noise-cancelling headphones, which are normally used to muffle sounds from the environment, function as resonating bodies directly on the ears of the audience guest. They are played with various objects such as violin bows, vibrating toys, poprocks in water bowls, gloves made of various materials, brushes and more. The physical potential of sounds is made tangible: it becomes difficult to tell whether it is an auditory sensation or a physical moment. Inspired by the sensory phenomenon "ASMR" in which soft sounds trigger a pleasant tingling sensation on the skin, the two composer performers Stellan Veloce and Neo Hülcker have developed their own ongoing practice of intimate ear playback which evolves as performance, treatment and composition.