Multi-Channel Sound & Media Installations

This page is for curators and producers. It summarizes the curatorial core of my work and a practical production model: I can travel with my own 20–40 channel sound system, and I can also create locally rooted versions through on-site community recordings (e.g., choirs) as part of the work.

Quick facts

Channels: 20–40 (depending on the space).
Sound system: I bring the full multi-channel setup.
Typically provided by the venue: the space, seating (chairs/benches), and—when needed—lighting and basic infrastructure (power, and any hanging/rigging possibilities depending on the venue).
Installation: typically 3–7 days depending on scale, including cabling, calibration, and spatial fine-tuning.
Exhibition duration: suitable for multi-week to multi-month runs; ideal duration is defined case-by-case.
Budget: scalable from mid-size to large-scale exhibition contexts; scope is defined case-by-case based on space, duration, and local production needs.
Scalability: works adapt to the space while keeping the artistic core intact.
Community process: possible (e.g., choirs and other local sonic communities).
Materials: curator kit and technical rider available on request (PDF can be shared immediately).

Next step

Email me with three details: the space, dates (exhibition period), and intended duration. I will respond with a suggested format (20/30/40 channels), an installation timeline, and a technical checklist—plus a proposal for a suitable work version for your context

Selected works

RE-BIRTH: Installation of Embodied Empathy. An immersive 40-channel sound and video installation in which a breath choir, spatial composition, and a generative video surface create a space for embodied listening.

Re-Verb. A multi-channel spatial sound installation in which listening unfolds in layers—from the intimacy of a single voice to a shared sound field. The work has been acquired for the collection of Aine Art Museum.

OWLA. A community-rooted spatial sound installation where human voices and a choreography of listening form an immersive environment of presence and connection.

ON THE BORDER. A large-scale multi-channel work exploring borders, belonging, and identity in motion.

Institutional context

My works are designed for museum and contemporary art centre contexts and are produced in collaboration with choirs, musicians, and movement partners when relevant. One of the multi-channel installations (Re-Verb) has been acquired for a museum collection.

Local collaboration and community recordings

In new productions, I often work in collaboration with local communities. I can bring a multi-channel recording setup as well, which allows the work to include a site-specific layer: recording local human voices—such as choirs or other community groups—and integrating that material into the multi-channel installation.

If a community process is included, a typical structure is:
1–2 recording sessions (choir/community), 2–5 hours each.
1–3 days for editing and integration into the spatial composition.
The venue typically supports coordination with the community and provides a quiet recording space; I handle recording, direction, and post-production.

For me this is not “collecting material,” but a collaborative process. The form makes audible how a place lives and thinks through us. Humans are fundamentally similar across distances and centuries, yet the surface—language, rhythm, context, the local “stage of life”—is always different. That difference is precisely what makes the work alive.

Artistic core

My practice centers on embodied listening and radical empathy. The works unfold over time and are often structured spatially: intensity gathers in the center while the edges offer rest and lower sensory load. This makes the installations accessible in different ways—visitors can enter briefly, or stay and go deep.

My inner motivation is a long-term inquiry into consciousness and vitality: how lived experience arises in the body, in space, and in a group. The work does not require conceptual framing to function; it can be approached through pure sensation and “wow,” while also allowing deeper entry through time, trust, and attention.

Method (settling → insight).

My installations are composed as environments where attention can first settle—through pacing, spatial form, and a carefully regulated sensory ecology. Once a basic sense of safety and orientation is established, a second layer becomes available: listening starts to reorganize perception from within. The work is not optimized for instant impact; it is designed for durational engagement, where “wow” can be an entry point, but depth emerges through time, trust, and attention.

This approach is grounded in my long-term anapanasati practice (breath-based meditation), which has shaped how I work with attention, pacing, and the conditions for insight to emerge without being forced.

Technical implementation and production model

I travel with my own multi-channel sound system (typically 20–40 channels depending on the work and the space). This makes production more predictable internationally, as the venue is not required to provide a large pre-existing sound setup. Typically, the venue provides the space and basic infrastructure, seating, and—when needed—lighting. Work-specific requirements are delivered as clear technical materials (technical rider, channel/placement map, space requirements, and an installation/testing workflow).

Contact

Jaakko Autio
jaakkoaution@gmail.com
jaakkoautio.com