Breaking the Silence:Experiencing the Sound Construction of 59.59 in the“Menggodam”Exhibition

30 OCTOBER 2025

By：SunYifan

Editor：WangYifei

As visitors enter the group exhibition “Menggodam,” 118 radios in the space play a loop of cricket chirping audio, broadcasting on two different FM frequencies. Half of the radios play live recordings of crickets in their natural habitat, while the other half play recordings from farms that raise crickets for human consumption. In this way, Filipino sound installation artist Corinne de San Jose's work, 59.59 challenges the viewer's imagination of "quiet" and "silence"—silence is never emptiness, but rather an organized and constructed soundscape.

The artwork "59.59"(Photo by SunYifan)

The word “Menggodam” in Malay carries connotations of “hacking,” “cracking,” and “reprogramming” . Curators Roopesh Sitharan and Gunalan Nadarajan invited artists from nine Southeast Asian countries to explore themes of technology, systems, sound, and cultural memory in an attempt to “crack” our singular understanding of technology and culture. The exhibition opens on August 17, 2025, on the third floor of ILHAM Gallery and runs until November 2.

Corinne de San Jose's 59.59 is a key and eye-catching work in this exhibition. What makes "59.59" unique is not only the sheer number of radios, but also the spatial arrangement of the sound. It cleverly blends auditory experience, sound technology, and ecological context, providing each visitor with a different auditory experience depending on their location in the exhibition hall. When people approach a particular group of radios, the intensity and timbre of the sound waves subtly change, creating an immersive and flowing resonance field—the chirping of crickets rises and falls, compelling viewers to listen to the process of constructing "silence".

The artwork "59.59"(Photo by SunYifan)

Corinne de San Jose, born in the Philippines, is a transmedia artist and sound designer. She shared her creative inspiration: “ I wanted to approach it the way I would approach sound designing. At first, I was looking at the more technical side, but then I figured what I really love about sound is the narrative around it. And many of our reactions to sound are also shaped by personal experiences, memories, and our own narratives. The chirping of crickets reminds me of silence, because where I grew up, it meant the quiet of the night and the feeling that the world had temporarily stopped.”

In 59.59, Corinne uses the sound of crickets as a metaphor for "silence". The memory of insect chirping at night in her childhood is magnified, deconstructed and reassembled, becoming a dynamic expression of "stillness".Corinne redefines cultural memory by reprogramming this familiar sound using modern technology.

In the exhibition’s foreword, curator Roopesh Sitharan wrote: ‘Menggodam’ is not destruction, but an attempt at reinterpretation. Corinne's work embodies this—she is not breaking down technological systems, but rather people's fixed ideas about sound and silence.

“When I walked into this room, I thought it would be a very quiet space, but the whole room was filled with the chirping of crickets. I suddenly realized that ‘quiet’ can also have sound,” said Tay Chai Boon, an undergraduate psychology student from Taylor’s University, after the visit.

Photographer Wanqing from Penang shared a similar reflection: “ I think this work is really special. It reminds me of shooting the night sky in the mountains—so quiet that you can hear the wind and the insects. In that moment, you realize that so-called ‘silence’ isn’t the absence of sound; it’s when you start to truly listen to the small sounds that are always there.”

59.59 evokes a subtle emotional tension. The cricket's continuous, faint chirping creates a paradoxical tranquility—a reminder that "silence" is not the absence of sound, but rather the most delicate expression of sound. On a broader level, this work reflects the reality of modern society enveloped by digital noise, while simultaneously awakening a yearning for "listening spaces." In this subtle acoustic environment, "silence" becomes a state that people actively perceive.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life, 59.59 offers a space for reflection. It reminds people that quiet is not a state of stillness, but a constructed and understood feeling—the tranquility brought by subtle sounds when we listen attentively.