“The vocal element and all expression of sounds are crucial to my existence; they allow me to communicate exactly who I am and what I do. Spettro Sound System started as a game, as an attempt to give to sounds, frequencies and vibrations a physical aspect through ceramic, and in doing so, producing new tools, instruments, for an alternative way of making music.” – Emiliano Maggi

Emiliano Maggi‘s artistic research keeps on exploring the emotional language of the body, experimenting with its various transformations closely related to sound and music. For Artissima 2016, the Rome-based experimental gallery Operativa Arte Contemporanea presents a solo-show of Maggi‘s latest project called Spettro Sound System (SSS), an installation that aims to gives body and shape to the ephemeral nature of sound. Made of two ceramic speakers and a series of microphones placed inside ceramic cases, the artwork conceptually reproduces the appearance and function of a respiratory system. The human voice spreading from the microphones brings the motionless system to life and makes it breathe, while the ceramic serves not just as a sculptural decorative element, but to give identity and form to the voice itself, which doesn’t sound human anymore through natural echo and reverberation effects. Shaped in twisted hybrids forms reminiscent of sexual organs, Spettro Sound System meditates on the controlling power of voice and sound, invisible matters that are able to dominate masses of individuals. Emiliano Maggi‘s orchestra can be arranged and installed in many ways and aims to establish a direct interaction with the audience, which is engaged via its emotional reactions to sounds, creating a real dialogue with the pieces.