Dates: May 22nd – August 31st, 2025
What: Immersive Sound Installation
Where: The Barbican Center, London
Who: TRANS VOICES, ILA & MONOM, with contribution from PATTY AYUKAWA
Tickets: 20Pounds
UN/BOUND is an interactive and immersive sound installation presented as part of the collective exhibition FEEL THE SOUND at the Barbican Centre, London.
Sound is how each of us communicated our emotions and needs when we entered the world; our first means of individual expression. Yet, imposed limitations silence, distort and sensationalise certain voices. In a fragmented society where progress and regression for trans communities coexist, UN/BOUND emerges to uncover deep listening as a catalyst for change.
Voices blend together and harmonise as you move through the space, shaped by cutting-edge technology. As the holographic choral experience evolves, you are invited to connect and contribute by listening or using your own voice. In this space, what we give up, and what we rediscover to find personal liberation and a deeper understanding of ourselves is explored.
At its core, UN/BOUND reveals the voice as a means of true expression, illuminating new spaces of belonging and collective resonance.
Musical Composition by ILA & TRANS VOICES, Sound Spatialization & Spatial Arrangement William Russell & Shehryar Ahmad, Studio Coordinator Alejandra Rios
Supported by Neutone, Moth & 4DSOUND
About the FEEL THE SOUND exhibition:
The new immersive exhibition will rearrange what you think sound is. Feel the Sound includes multi-sensory installations that take you on a journey across locations in the Barbican, from our car parks to the Lakeside Terrace.
Dance to beats from car sound-systems.
Join an ever expanding choral experience.
Discover your inner symphony.
Feel music without any sound.
Are you listening?
Produced by the Barbican, co-produced by Mon Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives, Tokyo, Japan.
Opening hours
Mon-Tue 11am - 7pm
Wed 10am - 7pm
Thu-Sat 10am - 9pm
Sun 10am - 7pm
Reserve your slot here.
About the artists:
TRANS VOICES
TRANS VOICES is the UK’s first professional trans+ vocal collective, blending meditative soundscapes, choral tradition, emerging technology, and bold vocal experimentation to reclaim spaces where trans perspectives are rarely heard. Founded by Ilā Kamalagharan (ILĀ) and Coda Nicolaeff as part of the London Contemporary Voices family, the collective is known for its innovative approach to choral music celebrating the unique qualities of trans voices.
https://www.transvoices.co.uk/
ILA
ILA is an artist, producer, and vocalist, whose practice integrates quantum and AI hybrid techniques. Ilā is also the co-founder and director of leading music institution London Contemporary Voices.
MONOM
MONOM is a spatial sound studio and multidisciplinary creative lab working at the intersection of music, art, technology, ceremony and ritual. Our projects range from sound art and music to theatre, dance, and the immersive realms of virtual and augmented reality. MONOM’s mission is to provide space and time for artists to expand the dimensions of their creative practice and to enrich communal and individual experiences of sound and art.
Founded in 2017, MONOM’s studio is home to the original 4DSOUND system. This technology is an intuitive instrument for composing virtual sonic realities. These new worlds of sound are designed not only to be heard but also to be felt with the whole body.
MONOM aims to foster a multicultural and cross-disciplinary movement centered around spatial sound and listening-based practices and experiences. MONOM believes in the potential of this emerging art form to transcend cultural divides through a common language of sound and space.
About the Barbican Center:
The Barbican is an arts, learning, and conference centre in the heart of the City of London.
They’re passionate about showcasing the most exciting art from around the world, pushing traditional artistic boundaries and helping us understand our lives in new and unexpected ways. Each year they present thousands of different performances, events and exhibitions that entertain and inspire millions of people, create connections, provoke debate, and reflect the world we live in.
They’re rooted firmly in their neighbourhood, collaborating with local communities to create joyful celebrations of the stories and places they care about, while putting the City of London on the map as a destination for everybody. Central to our purpose is supporting emerging talent, shaping opportunities that will accelerate the next generation of creatives.
As a purpose-driven organisation, the Barbican’s values inform their work as well as their everyday decisions. They want to ensure that creativity, inclusion, community, and enterprise are an essential part of the Barbican. By underpinning everything they do with their organisational values, by being inclusive, connected, sustainable, and daring, and by approaching their work in a joyful way, they hope that being part of the Barbican community will become a positive, life-enhancing experience for everyone.
https://www.barbican.org.uk/
Location:
Barbican Centre
Silk Street, London
EC2Y 8DS