Sonic Views

Sonic Views are images generated by ambient sounds. To each value of the waveform's amplitude is associated a color ranging from black to white. Each color is then applied to a cell in a matrix, creating a picture where the ambient recording can be explored at its most granular level, but where sound is left to imagine.

The image is meant to expose the viewer to the density and complexity of acoustic events constantly surrounding us. While we hear a multitude of sounds, we naturally filter them, focusing on what is more relevant to us at a given moment, and our eyes play a powerful role in this, making us deaf to things that don't matter. At a survival level, a car honking at us while we cross the street will temporarily call our attention over our friend talking, but in a general sense our brain decides when and what to listen to. These images offer eyes every detail of a recorded sound. With nothing to hear, but so much to look at, our ears have a moment of revenge with our brain.