Deep listening
Tong Niu
Bio
Syna Tong Niu is a multidisciplinary artist working across sound, moving image, and spatial installation. Her practice explores how perception and embodied experience are shaped within technologically mediated sensory environments and broader social contexts. Drawing on spectral ethnography, she investigates themes of memory, affect, and cultural perception, with a current focus on the therapeutic potential of vibration.
She is based between the UK, China, and Japan. Her work has been presented internationally, including at IKLECTIK Art Lab (UK), the Changwon International Art Festival (Korea), and Sol de Paris Gallery (Paris). Tong was nominated for the JTOP 10 Emerging Artists of the Year at the Asian New Generation Art Exhibition (2022), and received the 9th INNODESIGN PRIZE in France (2023).
Introduction of Research
I am a deep-listening researcher, delving into the latent sonic language within natural ecology. My work merges moving images, experiential design, and psychoactive aesthetics to transform sound waves into polyphonic expressions. Through spectral ethnography, I reveal the healing potential of sound narratives, linking individual inner worlds with their surrounding environments. My practice engages with marginalized voices and historical remnants, expanding narrative spaces to explore resonances within immersive soundscapes.
Each work involves field recordings that capture a state of hyper-perception, transforming wandering sounds into rhythmic “bells,” resonant carriers interwoven with ambient spatial journeys. By listening, tracing, gazing, and reshaping, I engage in a dynamic dialogue with natural relics, creating a polyphonic healing space. My research not only examines the application of immersive soundscapes and cybernetic principles in art but also offers a perceptual approach to reconnecting with personal, historical, and natural realms, fostering psychological and emotional healing.