At Your Fingertips
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While sound is often reduced to what is perceived through the eardrums and the auditory system, listening goes far beyond. We can listen with the heart, but we can also feel vibrations throughout the body — with an open hand or just the fingertips — especially when the ears no longer function as they should.
This sound installation consists of 12 large iron plates, each one set into vibration by a sound chosen by a deaf or hard-of-hearing young person.
Sound thus becomes a space for sharing: listening to meet the other, to step into their shoes, and to discover their unique way of inhabiting the world. Developed during a residency at the CSDA, this work reveals, beyond each young person’s favorite sound, a way of perceiving it — and through the physical engagement it requires, how we all are active participants in our own listening.
Project in collaboration with Anaïs, Camille, Ethan, Kelyan, Kotayba, Lilou, Mathis, Milana, Robbyn, Selena, Timeo, and Zulma, accompanied by Sophie Archilla and Nadège Paz from the CSDA.
Project assistant: Marine Swietlik
Pictures: Marine Swietlik
Centre d’art Le Lait: Antoine Marchand (Director), Claire Bachellerie (Administration), Murielle Edet (Communication), Hélène Lapeyrère and Patricia Scribe (Mediation), Guillaume Rozan (Technical Management)
GMEA: Didier Aschour (Director), Isabelle Penard (Administration), Gérôme Blanchard (Communication), Benjamin Maumus (Sound Engineering), Émilie Beffara (Production & Coordination of the Tekhnē project)
CSDA: Camille Lacout (Director), Olivia Schaeffer (Coordination), Marie Gout (Speech Therapist), Sara Mieze (Head of CAMSPS), Corinne Farré (Interpreter), Océane Favier (Communication Interface)
Special thanks to Céline Skrzypczak from the Scène Nationale d’Albi, Aurélie Querin and Jérémy Martinat from the Toulouse City Council, Jérôme Battaglia from the company Timmpi, as well as Andres Blume, Marie-Christine Cabanas, Sara Lana, Ana Medina, Yannick Dauby, Didier Gusmano, Benjamin, Julard and the Albigeois Equestrian Center.
A co-production by the Centre d’art Le Lait and the GMEA – National Center for Musical Creation of Albi-Tarn, as part of the Tekhnē project, co-funded by the European Union, the Bon Sauveur d’Alby Foundation, and the CSDA (Specialized Center for Hearing-Impaired Youth). With the support of the City of Albi.
Project done in 2025 in Albi (Fr). Exhibited at Centre d’art Le Lait in 2025 for first time.
12 iron plates 80 cm x 80 cm, audio players, amplifiers, vibrators, 12 videos in French Sign Language (LSF)