Dark Adaptation
暗适应
8-channel spatial sound installation
Dark Adaptation is an 8-channel spatial sound installation developed from the artist’s ongoing research into sound, space, and perception.
The title “dark adaptation” refers to a physiological process in which the eyes gradually adjust to low-light conditions. In this work, the concept is extended beyond vision to describe a mode of auditory and embodied perception, in which sound slowly emerges over time and invites the listener to recalibrate their relationship to space.
“暗适应”原本是⼀个视觉⽣理学术语，指⼈眼在低照度环境中逐渐恢复感知能⼒的过程。在本作品中，这⼀概念被引申为⼀种听觉与身体层⾯的感知状态：当熟悉的空间线索被削弱，声⾳如何在时间中逐渐显现，并促使听者新调整⾃身与空间之间的关系。作品以环形或半环形空间为基本展示条件，通过 8 只扬声器围绕式布置，构建⼀个⾮指向性、⾮叙事性的声场环境。声⾳并不以明确的运动路径或事件结构展开，⽽是以缓慢、持续的⽅式在空间中浮现、消退与组，强调临近感、共振以及空间尺度对听觉感知的影响。
Dark Adaptation : https://youtu.be/9D65abBq0jg
Designed for circular or semi-circular exhibition environments, the installation employs eight loudspeakers arranged around the listener to create a non-directional, non-narrative sound field. Rather than following defined trajectories or events, sound unfolds gradually through appearance, recession, and recomposition, emphasizing proximity, resonance, and the spatial scale of listening. The sonic material is based on field recordings collected over the past three years in various locations across London, with a particular focus on Brutalist architectural spaces.
These recordings include concrete reverberations, subtle material vibrations, underground transport systems, crowds, and ambient urban noise. Through spatial processing, the sounds are detached from their original geographical and narrative contexts and transformed into abstract acoustic traces.
In Dark Adaptation, sound is not presented as an object to be listened to, but as an atmospheric condition that continuously inhabits the space. Visitors are invited to remain, move, and gradually adapt to the evolving sound field, shifting perception from attentive listening toward a more embodied awareness of space.
声⾳素材主要来源于艺术家过去三年间在伦敦多个地点进⾏的⽥录⾳，点关注粗主义建筑空间中的声⾳特征，包括混凝⼟结构的残响、材料的微弱振动、地下交通系统、⼈群以及环境噪声等。这些声⾳在装置中被去除原有的地理与叙事指向，通过空间化处理转化为抽象的声学痕迹。在《暗适应》中，声⾳不再作为被“聆听”的对象，⽽是作为⼀种持续存在的空间条件。观众被邀请在展厅中停留、移动，并在时间的推移中逐渐适应声场变化，从⽽形成⼀种介于主动聆听与身体感知之间的状态。