Nora Turato: I hear you, I hear you.

Yellow words advance one at a time at a rapid, near-illegible pace against a red background. This string of text is occasionally punctuated by the legible words I hear you in a calm, black-on-white design. The audio captures Turato’s breathing exercises, which begin as a warm up and build to a painful wail. 

Like most of Turato’s work, the piece uses vivid phrases compiled during her research into specific linguistic trends and subcultures; here, she drew from popular language related to self-improvement and personal and professional advancement. The artist’s sources included YouTube and TikTok videos, advertisements, the fine print on prescription medications, and news stories focused on specific lifestyle techniques marketed to decrease anxiety and optimize the self. 

Across performances, videos, publications, and installations, Turato’s work critically engages the ways that language circulates in order to emphasize how words can become incoherent and ridiculous in daily life.

Nora Turato: I hear you, I hear you. is curated by Giampaolo Bianconi, Dittmer Associate Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art.