Tania Candiani

Sonic Seed is a sound installation inspired by traditional rattles used in Indigenous Mexican dances. These instruments—made from seeds and butterfly cocoons—are used in ceremonies to awaken the energy of the earth. While not part of a ceremonial tradition, this artwork reimagines the rattle as a sculptural, sonic, and participatory experience.

Suspended between trees above a forest pond, hundreds of seed strands form a dense, hanging curtain. The piece appears almost woven by insects—slowly becoming part of the forest—or as if it had always been there. A nearby wooden structure, fitted with two large conical “ears,” invites the audience into an altered mode of listening. These carved wooden cones don’t amplify external sounds in a conventional way; instead, they create a shell-like resonance—like placing a seashell to your ear—amplifying your own presence and subtly shifting your perception of the soundscape.

When the cord is pulled and the seeds begin to rattle, the installation comes alive. This gesture of activation becomes a small ritual in itself—an invitation to listen, to shake, to invoke. The resulting sound expands briefly and then dissipates, echoing how movement and rhythm in traditional dances become a living dialogue with the natural world.

The piece extends the themes of Subterra, engaging subterranean and more-than-human forms of communication. While the structure’s shape is abstract, its presence gently references the local bat population, attuning the work to the ecological life of Vallisaari.