Feel the Sound, a recent exhibition at London’s Barbican Centre (May 22 to August 31, 2025) invited attendees to rethink the essence of sound. A series of multisensory participatory experiences revealed sound’s physical, emotional and immersive dimensions, inviting audiences to experience it not just with their ears, but with their whole self.
Several artists showed that sound can be a physical sensation. Jan St Werner’s Vibraceptional Plate delivered a bodily experience of resonance, allowing visitors to step on to an interactive platform and feel a pattern of vibrations that fluctuated with their movement. The tangibility of sound was amplified in Joyride, a dynamic, sensory installation by the Irish rave architecture collective Temporary Pleasure. Spilling out into the museum’s parking lot, four tricked-out cars with built-in sound systems formed an impromptu dancefloor, delivering a physical experience of sound that resonated through customized sub-woofers, in a nostalgic nod to the Y2K rave scene.
The exhibition also delved into the way sound can help articulate the ineffable. Electronic artist Max Cooper’s Reflections of Being offered a glimpse into our inner worlds through the lens of sound. The full-room immersive installation was shaped around contributions from his community of listeners answering the question: “what do you want to express that you feel you can’t in everyday life?”
