Subvocal

13 & 14.2 at BRUX – Freies Theater Innsbruck, as part of Vorbrenner residency

21.2 at Funkhaus Vienna, curated by Never at Home
(Tickets available soon)

Subvocal is the second instalment of a trilogy of performances that uses hypnosis to examine the cognitive operations of new technologies: how they shape the ways we interpret, trust, and respond to the world, often while bypassing critical reflection.

The piece uses hypnotic suggestion, musical composition, and Ganzflicker light effects to create what we describe as an “opera for the mind.” The performance is narrated through hypnotic suggestion by Aapo Nikkanen, while the orchestra is electronically conducted by Raudie McLeod.

Subvocal treats the unconscious not as a neutral inner space, but as contested territory — one shaped by neoliberal extraction, influence, and psychological operations, but still open for emancipation and renewed agency. In the piece, the audience is hypnotised and guided through a world where the unconscious pressures around us become briefly visible.

Aapo Nikkanen, Direction & Hypnotic Narration
Raudie McLeod, musical composition & sound design

We would like to gratefully acknowledge that this project would not been possible without the generous support from Kone Foundation, Vorbrenner (funded by Stadt Innsbruck and Land Tirol), EU Mobility Funding, and Never at Home collective.

© 2024 Aapo Nikkanen Practices. All rights reserved.