A multisensory installation that amplifies gut sounds to destigmatize bodily interiority and rediscover the gut as an organ of intuition.
Since 2020, the duo of Lea Luka Sikau and Denisa Půbalová has worked at the intersection of media arts and experimental sound theater. Both are researchers (Sikau holds a PhD on posthumanism from Cambridge, Půbalová focuses on environmental philosophy and critical posthumanism); their practice is driven by a fascination with post-anthropocentric narratives and interspecies communication.
the gut rehearses to tell you something is a multisensory sound installation that invites visitors into the sonic landscape of the human gut—celebrating and amplifying what is typically silenced. Listening to our guts means tuning into intuition and the subtle metabolic vibrations that shape our emotions. Yet, these bodily sounds are often stigmatized, dismissed as embarrassing.
The work reimagines the bowel as a rich sonic ecosystem driven by the dynamic interplay of microorganisms, chemicals, and physical movements. The artists conducted extensive experimentation with their own digestive systems and collaborated with the German ILCO stoma association, exploring how medicalized guts reshape one’s sensory and emotional connection to internal resonance.
As visitors move through the space, gurgles, growls, and rumbles emerge from floor sculptures textured like skin, embedded with haptic actuators. The sounds are not merely played back—they are experienced physically. Vibrations ripple across the room, enveloping the audience in a “gutscape” that flows from expansive howls and crisp effervescence to distorted crescendos.
At its core, the project is an act of collective destigmatization and microbial synchronization. It reframes our guts as organs of perception, intuition, and intersubjective connection. It urges us to question what emerges from our bodies and how we resonate with others—not through breath or heartbeat, but through visceral sonic entanglement.
BIO
Lea Luka Sikau is a media artist, stage director, and researcher, specializing in post-Anthropocentrism. She is currently a Harvard Mellon Fellow and curator at ZKM Hertzlab. Denisa Půbalová is a media artist and creative coder interested in technological infrastructures and interspecies communication. Their work has been commissioned by prominent institutions such as Ars Electronica, transmediale Berlin, and Ensemble Modern.
This project is part of ReSilence: Future Soundscapes & Affect Mining in Urban Ecosystems, the exhibition showcasing the outcomes of fifteen international art residencies supported by S+T+ARTS (the European Commission’s initiative for science, technology, and the arts). Through the artistic exploration of sound, RESILENCE redefines urban spaces, using the acoustic dimension to analyze the complex affective and ecological relations of future cities and promote collective awareness of what lies beyond mere noise. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with BASE, as part of the FAROUT Festival 2025 edition.