The British conceptual artist is set to debut her new sound installation HEARTLINE at the V&A’s upcoming Friday Late.
Since 2004, award-winning artist Hannah Marshall has navigated the boundaries between silence and sound, encouraging audiences to find resonance in acts of quantum listening. Her latest venture, HEARTLINE, will launch at the V&A’s free On/Off event, the latest in a string of Friday night events held in the museum’s hidden rooms.
Combining the spatial audio technology of L-Acoustics, with opening vocals by Kate Fleur Young and an original score by cellist and composer Lucinda Chua, HEARTLINE will guide participants through a sonic sound journey. Moments of silence will be delicately interwoven with Chua’s atmospheric soundscapes, culminating in a synchronised heartbeat at 40 beats per minute.
Participants of the HEARTLINE installation will silence their phones at the door, entering a liminal space where listening becomes intentional. The 20-minute experience takes place in a pocket of darkness, with audiences sitting back-to-back, surrounded by 16 speakers of spatial audio. Slots run from 18:30 until 21:30 at a limited capacity of 40 visitors, guaranteeing a feeling of ephemeral intimacy. A necessary reprieve from a culture of constant connectivity, HEARTLINE encourages a return to our internal frequencies, inviting participants to be immersed in a space of inward reflection.
Conceived as a touring installation, HEARTLINE will inhabit the Prince Consort Gallery, a 33-metre corridor with vaulted, temple-like ceilings in a section of the V&A usually restricted from public access. The installation forms part of the museum’s popular contemporary art event, Friday Late, where attendees will experience a series of performances, installations and workshops designed to alter their connection to their digitally-charged surroundings. On/Off aims to foster a culture of meaningful human connection, using artistic and meditation practices to encourage a return to the body.
“Silence was my first language,” says Marshall, “In the absence of love, I began to seek the language of connection, and sound became my anchor in processing complex emotions.”
In 2014, the London-based artist founded H+, an experiential studio dedicated to creatively conscious sound art. She has since collaborated with organisations such as The British Museum, Saatchi Gallery, Sony, Moleskine and Selfridges to deliver culturally-engaged works grounded in active listening.
“I found that the word “listen”, the very word that anchors my artistic practice, holds a hidden truth: the same letters form the word “silent” — no coincidence. It became clear that silence, just as much as sound, is the gateway to deep listening — to truly connecting with ourselves and with others,” says Marshall.
HEARTLINE is designed to elicit an ongoing ritual of silent reflection, an active resistance to the technologies which separate us from ourselves and each other. As innovations in artificial intelligence continue to diminish the value of human creativity and connection, HEARTLINE asks us to recentre our focus upon the heart and soul through collective meditation practice.
Marshall’s work becomes particularly prevalent in light of growing concern toward the negative effects of constant connectivity on youth mental health, with New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams declaring social media a public health crisis hazard.
“As we become exhausted by the algorithms that control our opinions and enforce unrealistic standards, Hannah Marshall’s work offers a space for focused, communal and meditative moments – an intentional intervention through deep listening, in search of balance,” says Kristian Volsing, Senior Curator of the V&A’s Contemporary Programme.
Given the uncertainty and disconnection brought by AI innovation, Marshall’s practice offers a space to rediscover the value of human intelligence. For visitors, HEARTLINE may provide a moment of metamorphosis, or simply a brief reprieve from the relenting digital vacuum.
HEARTLINE is on at the V&A on Friday 27th June for one night only from 18.30 – 22.00. Image courtesy of the artist.
