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The Sound of Silence and Plants
Signed book "The Sound of Music and Plants" by D. Retallack, plants, stage, speaker, amplified soundtrack of David Tudor public performance of John Cage's silent composition 4'33''
210x210x250cm
2008
exhibition view Nessun uomo è un’isola, San Servolo Island, Venice

This installation makes reference to researches led mainly in the 70s on the effect of music on plants. On a stage, a speaker plays to plants the amplified soundtrack of David Tudor public performance of John Cage's silent composition 4'33''. The plants are bind to listen not to any classical music but to silence, that is not even one. The environment noise (chairs noises, people moving, stopwatch...) being the only possible silence. On a shelf, the signed book "The Sound of Music and Plants" by Dorothy Retallack (1973) is used as scientific documentation creating an echo to the installation.