The Sound of the Growing Grass / 풀 자라는 소리

Immersive soundscape installation with floating bamboo moulds and black light, Galerie I-Ang, Seoul

In German there is a saying: to “hear the grass growing” – to have a dubious premonition, or simply to be excessively alert. Bamboo, a plant belonging to the grass family, grows very quickly – in spring, up to 1.25 metres per day. But unlike meadow grasses, bamboo can actually produce sounds as it shoots upward. Does that sound like a myth? Even in the home of Korean bamboo, the county of Damyang, opinions are divided: some say they have heard it. Others have not. An acoustic search for the truth.