'Mutenies' by Peter Bogers

audiovisual installation

‘Mutenies’ 2021

At the beginning of 2019, Peter Bogers was hit by a seriously disruptive Tinnitus: a 9000 Hz beep in the center of the brain that has never stopped since then. The period that followed is characterized by a tough mental struggle to build both resilience against and acceptance of an ever-present sound that does not come from outside, but which is inevitably produced by the brain itself. It was only after two years of habituation and therapy that the situation was somewhat under control and Bogers decided to use this experience as a one-off source of inspiration for a work of art. This eventually led to the audiovisual work 'Mutenies'.
In 'Mutenies' a high pitched beeb is alternated with sounds of, for example, leaves in the wind and flowing water. These so-called 'white noise' sounds are also used in therapy as masking sounds that can provide relief to the tinnitus patient during difficult periods. The noise sounds are spatially reproduced in the work by four small loudspeakers in the corners of the display room. They are experienced by the spectator as more or less beneficent 'coming from outside' in sharp contrast with the beep, which is everywhere monotonous presentand and places itself ín the spectator's head.
In the middle of the room hangs a small screen (about 30x20 cm) in a glass framework. Extremely fine noise-particles can be seen inside and outside the graphic black-and-white images of the human body that is on view here. The movements of the noise particles are linked to the sound. Whitin the contoures of the body, the noise is linked to the high 9000Hz tones, the visual background noise is linked to the white noise sounds produced by the four speakers.