"It was almost dark when I found the remains of his prey. In the shadow, the blood looked black. The predator's prey is like hot ash of a dying fire. Hours of darkness, such as night and sleep, are indispensable to the inorganic and organic realm. Not even the Moon shines every night; instead, it gives way to darkness."

D.S.

Eye sleeps, ear breathes is a multimedia installation by Davor Sanvincenti based on field recordings of animal habitats. The work emerged from a complex multi-year project that involved artistic and technological research and engineering work, realized in collaboration with electroacoustic engineer Miodrag Gladović. Sanvincenti and Gladović created a so-called sound trap to capture sounds of the animal world at night, and bring moments when the animal kingdom lives freely, devoid of human presence, closer to the human ear and eye.

The sound trap allowed us to approach a spectrum unfamiliar to us; entering into the intimacy of wildlife sound and its acoustic environment at microlocations of the Risnjak National Park (Croatia) and Peneda-Gerês National Park (Portugal). The recordings also make a significant contribution to the assessment of the biodiversity of these areas in relation to anthropogenic noise and sound pollution, making them valuable archival material for future generations. From the collected material, Sanvincenti creates a multi-channel audiovisual installation that puts the visitor in a state of uncertainty, provoking tension in the auditory apparatus and altering our listening and auditory perception, while simultaneously creating empathy towards nature and the animal world.

By creating tension in the ear, but also in the mind, the author offers a broader understanding of the auditory apparatus: in addition to the organ that physically transmits sound waves to us, the auditory apparatus is the entire human body, and above all, the brain, the state of consciousness, and the tension of the mind. The ear is the sensor of the night and, above all, of the most sensitive thing that exists: underground night, sealed night, night of depth, night of death. Tension sensitizes our being, leading it to extreme sensitivity. Such sensitive correspondences appear in this case at the psychic peaks of different senses. We realize this as we await the day in the darkest night. In those moments, the tense ear tries to see. Contrary to the composed ear, the tense ear seeks something beyond mere sound. Visual images of the tense ear lead the imagination beyond silence, interpreting sensations. Images are experienced in the very act of tense imagination.

Engaging with the philosophy of sound and psychoacoustics, Sanvincenti relies in many ways on the work of composer and artist Maryanne Amacher, from whom he takes the title of the installation, but also on the work of other pioneers of theories and understanding of listening.