The Whirring In My Bones
Sounding Beyond Structures
Publication - 2025

This publication, originally written as an MA thesis in Artistic Research, examines how practices of archiving, listening, and unlearning shape relations between bodies, spaces, and communities. Situated within and in dialogue with the lived context of a residential building in Tehran, it brings together theoretical frameworks such as hauntology, archival unlearning, and sonic sensibility with situated observations and artistic experiments. Across three movements, [repeats], [lingers], and [dis-connects], the work traces how everyday routines, inaudible resonances, and collective encounters open alternative ways of sensing, knowing, and making with, proposing listening as both a method and a mode of worlding.

Part one [repeats] begins by noting the changes that have occurred to the building’s elements, particularly the elevator, from a descriptive and interpretive perspective. How does repeating the same routine resonate when observed or listened to from a distance? How do I and other members of the building connect through the everyday objects we encounter? I contextualise these routines by grasping the hauntedness within these routines: first, through Mark Fisher’s concept of hauntology, which draws on failed promises and the contemporary condition; and second, by describing the structure of an Iranian family’s perspective, as portrayed in a novel by Abbas Maroufi, alongside the inspirations from the different ghosts introduced by various writers in the book, Arts of Living On A Damaged Planet. Drawing from Ariella Aisha Azoulay’s notion of "unlearning" the archive, the first part continues with observing and discovering remaining resonances and potentials within the scattered notes and remnants related to the building.

The second part, [lingers], begins with a more personal reflection, sharing the research journey through writing about sound and listening. It involves searching
for what is unheard or unrealized, drawing upon the sonic sensibility—a term used by Salomé Voegelin to reveal hidden movements beneath the visual realm—disrupting established norms to uncover the composition of our world and challenge its singular reality (8). The text continues by expanding on the different attempts in my artistic research to listen without hearing while also distancing myself
from the archive at times to experiment with new forms of sharing sounds through text and visualization, drawing upon Voegelin’s notion of the inaudible. Gradually, these attempts lead me towards a more bodily exploration while I revisit some elements of the building, such as the rooftop as a point of convergence and community creation, linking this part to what is to come.

With collectivity and community-building in mind, the third part, [dis-connects], focuses on collective experiences with sound and listening, starting with the Listening Academy in Berlin. I explore how connection and disconnection have manifested in the different collective experiences I encountered and revisit how a sonic world emerged through its connection with my body and mind—particularly looking at these explorations as a way to think about listening as an emergent strategy, referencing the book by adrienne maree brown and the overarching theme of the Listening Academy. Reflecting on these collective listening sessions, I also consider the issues of sharing and opacity, as well as the positionality of the listener and the listened to, drawing from Dylan Robinson’s writing in Hungry Listening: Resonant Theory for Indigenous Sound Studies.

Practicing listening in multiple ways—engaging with the building, then moving inward to the body and outward to community building—was not a linear experience, despite the chapter divisions. The research unfolded horizontally, with each aspect feeding into the others. This research project aims to portray the new interpretations that have emerged over the past few years through questioning, engaging, distancing, coming close, and speculating.