Is-Ma-Ni (Listen to Me)

2026
  • IS-MA-NI, 2026, Unique Piece. Materials : Brass, rope,

  • What is the power of the singular? A single voice can be lost in the wind, dismissed as an anomaly. But a single voice that speaks, that emits a first clear frequency, is an act of creation. It is the solitary striker who hits the bell, taking a leap of faith into an unknown acoustic space. Will the sound die, absorbed by the apathy of the air, or will it find the room’s resonance?

  • For me, this is the question at the heart of Is-Ma-Ni (Listen to Me). How important is it to instigate...

    For me, this is the question at the heart of Is-Ma-Ni (Listen to Me). How important is it to instigate the first sound? It is everything. The first sound requires courage because it carries no guarantee of an echo. It is a gift offered to the dark, hoping the dark is not empty.

  • Three lips speak: Is–Ma–Ni, Listen to me, اسمعني.

  • (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
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  • Made from forged metal, hollow and suspended, they hold breath without a body. Each articulates a fragment of the Arabic...

    Made from forged metal, hollow and suspended, they hold breath without a body. Each articulates a fragment of the Arabic phrase, transforming the mouth into a vessel for a voice caught between speaking and being heard. Inspired by traditional Korean percussion instruments, the sculptures invite sound to emerge through physical interaction, bringing together the act of speaking and the act of listening.

  • In my research into women’s movements in Korea, I became interested in how individual acts of courage can give rise to collective movements, and how a single voice can travel far beyond the circumstances in which it first emerged. These histories reveal the relationship between the individual and the collective, between the courage to speak and the willingness of others to listen. The singular act becomes a question addressed to others, and the collective response becomes its answer.

     

    I write this as a woman from Saudi Arabia. I am an outsider to Korea, but I am not an outsider to the experience of searching for one’s own echo. I look towards my own community, my own sisters and my own city, listening for the whispers, poems and acts of quiet resilience that often remain unheard. Across different political, cultural and historical conditions, women continue to negotiate the space between speaking and being believed, between making their experiences known and having them recognised. I see solidarity not as something given, but as something we must continually create through listening and the willingness to receive one another’s stories.

  • In Is-Ma-Ni, the metal lips become instruments, activated by the public with a mallet. I invite the audience to become...

    In Is-Ma-Ni, the metal lips become instruments, activated by the public with a mallet. I invite the audience to become the striker, to produce the first sound and to experience what happens when others answer. Each strike generates a vibration that travels through the space. As more people participate, the sounds overlap and accumulate, transforming individual gestures into a shared sensory experience. The audience does not simply observe the formation of collective memory; it participates in its creation.

     

    For me, memory is not a fixed or private possession. It is something we build through the telling, hearing and holding of stories. A voice may begin alone, but once released into the world, it can find others who recognise themselves in it and carry it forward.

  • With Is-Ma-Ni, I invite the public to consider not only the courage it takes to speak, but also the responsibility...

    With Is-Ma-Ni, I invite the public to consider not only the courage it takes to speak, but also the responsibility of listening. What happens when we receive another person’s voice rather than allow it to disappear? What forms of solidarity become possible when we make room for experiences beyond our own?

     

    A single voice is the beginning. The echo is never guaranteed. It must be made, together.

  • EXHIBITION HISTORY