The Art of Sound Through the Lens

Is sound invisible?

Well, the profound answer would be “Yes”. But what if it can be photographed?

I am Christos Baimpakis photographer and musician. I am a strong advocate of the idea that both photography and music are complementary to each other but when blended they provide a complete story. Therefore, I have attempted to demonstrate the picture of sound.

As per Dr. Braid SC (2014), sound is vibration and as such can be seen through capturing its vibration. In this project, I have made the experiment of capturing specific sound frequencies by using different equipment and material.

Influenced by both science and art, I have chosen to photograph the sound of mediation. It has been proven, that there are several frequencies associated with meditation and each one resonates with its own chakra. This exhibition is the fingerprint of all seven chakras and the picture of those into the human body. Despite the fact that visualising sound is limited in terms of sound’s ability to express the human cognition of sound, I have tried an alternative approach to achieve that. Having tested various materials I discovered a methodology that could help me fulfil the aim of this project; water. Taking as fact that the human body consists of 65% water, I have decided to choose water as the means by which I will present the end result: “How would the picture of the meditation sound look in the human body?”

As a musician, I have been inspired by various legendary names in the music industry and I have studied their music further. Analysing the use and role of the visual on their final concepts. The band Pink Floyd have intrigued me the most, and I was inspired for this project after revisiting their album “Meddle”. The picture of the album cover depicts an underwater ear, representing “the musical nature of events “. On the surface, ripples created from drops of water that create circular patterns representing the vibrations of sound. My photography eyes viewed this picture differently this time and made me want to capture the effects of sound.

Starting my research, I came across with Bjork’s Biophilia project, which mainly attempts to demonstrate how nature relates to music and humanity. Aiming to bring that into the photography world, I decided to visualise the musical effects on humans, visible.

Previous attempts relating to my studies fascinated me even more. Research led me to the work of Hans Jenny (1904-1972), a Swiss follower of the philosophical school known as anthroposophy who first coined the theory of Cymatics. Jenny, after repeating Chladni’s experiments, claimed the existence of a subtle power based on the normal, symmetrical images made by sound waves. More Recently, Evan Grant, a creative technologist, experimented with sound visualisation (based on Clandin’s theory) has introduced the idea of how there is data in everything we see and interact with, and how Cymatics is a first step in accessing that data.

Creating a DIY set up, my experiments commenced by taking each chakra frequency through a process of creating interaction with other sources of organic and non-organic substances. Following Cymatics theory and having my camera as the main producer, my images mirror the symmetries and accuracy of mathematics found throughout the beauty of sound in the format of unique patterns.

Click below to watch the video created by using only the sacred frequencies.

(Solfeggio) Frequencies

This is a Video created by using the sacred (Solfeggio) Frequencies which they correspond to chakras. The Music is composed by me and the piece is called “Healing”

The whole project is for my final year at the university.

For more info please click at the link below and you will be directed to my blog where you can see all the information in relation to this project.