‘Please, do not turn up the volume’: silence, ‘small sounds’ and the displacement of auditory perspective in works by Miki Yui

Abstract

The works of the Japanese composer and sound artist Miki Yui are known to represent an extremely evocative displacement of aural perspective, as we first struggle to hear the sounds and then struggle to determine what is ‘music’ and what is incidental. Her works operate on the very threshold of audibility, and under normal listening conditions her ‘small sounds’ often appear inaudible or hard to get a hold of. The ambient noise of the surrounding environment helps to reinforce the blurring boundaries between what in fact constitutes the work and what is more commonly referred to as interference. This article will discuss how Yui’s works represent a challenge for the listener in the context of the gallery space, as well as question the artist’s claim that silence and ambient small sounds produce a more attentive and peaceful state of mind.