A space for silence: exhibiting and materialising silence through technology

International audienceThis article explores where and how silence ‘takes place’. After reviewing various cultural and political meanings and performances of silence, this article will provide an in-depth analysis of the Norwegian pavilion at the universal exhibition Expo 2000 in Hanover. While most pavilions at this exhibition displayed objects about nature, technology and humankind – the general theme of Expo 2000 – the main attraction of the Norwegian pavilion was an art installation named ‘The Silent Room’ produced by a contemporary artist. This article describes how the Silent Room was constructed, how the silence therein was technologically produced and how it was experienced by some of its visitors. Several technologies were used to create silence: a waterfall outside of the pavilion and a sound installation and isolating material inside. On one hand, technology was used indirectly, to produce the opposite of silence (sound) and to create the possibility of silence. On the other hand, a direct relationship between silence and technology was present as well: the idea to create silence by a deliberate break, by a significant non-use of technology. This article shows that silence is not only the absence of sound but also not spaceless nothingness. Silence is a spatial object that has multiple locations: it is portrayed as both a natural and a cultural characteristic of Nordic countries; its presence can be experienced in a room; and silence is physically, discursively and temporally located next to sound and noise