Liam O’Dell: Why you should go and visit ‘Tonotopia’ at the V&A Museum

I’m not normally the biggest fan of museums. History and art weren’t really strong subjects for me at school, and I don’t really have much of interest in science unless it’s about wacky chemical reactions or the wonders of the universe.

By far my favourite type of museum exhibitions are the ones which are interactive – most likely a symptom of my ‘learning by doing’ mindset – Tonotopia at the Victoria and Albert Museum is one of them.

In collaboration with Action on Hearing Loss, University of Winchester lecturer Dr Tom Tlalim built a soundproof booth in which you can sit and ‘feel’ music.

Consider that alongside interviews with six users of cochlear implants (CI), and the exhibit is an interesting exploration of how sound can be interpreted.

After a good 15 minutes trying to find it within the museum (hint: follow signs for the Sackler Centre), I was able to visit the exhibit myself on Saturday – and take two things away from it in particular.

First of all, the soundproof booth serves a very interactive answer to a common question deaf people are asked: “But how do you hear music?” It’s not so much a matter of hearing music for some deaf people, more so sensing the vibrations of the bass and interpreting a song that way.

Yet perhaps the most important are the interviews with CI users. In some areas of the deaf community, cochlear implants remain a contentious issue.

Meanwhile, in the hearing world, the technology can be viewed through the usual rose-tinted glasses that lead to people assuming that they are a cure to deafness, rather than an aid for hearing.

These six interviews, like with any interview, allow for individuals to share their experiences candidly – both the good and the bad.

Most notably is their reaction to having the device switched on. While I don’t have cochlear implants myself, I know from when I first had my hearing aids turned on that not everyone has the same emotional reaction to ‘the moment’ which we currently see in the mainstream media.

It’s something I saw with two interviewees. They describe the pure silence after the operation before the flooding cacophony of sound that comes when it is turned on.

To assume that everyone feels elation in that moment, when some may feel overwhelmed or confused, is incredibly speculative and ill-informed.

As with any case when art shines a light on disability, it’s important that such representation isn’t seen as a ‘one size fits all’ description of that condition.

With Tonotopia we see diverse experiences which show that not all deaf people have the same switch-on, or in terms of the exhibit itself, the same experience with music.

In particular, one other interviewee mentions hearing as a spectrum, and how it’s unlikely that anyone is ‘completely hearing’.

As much as the exhibit explores the musical experiences of those with cochlear implants, another underlying message is how individualistic our hearing and our interactions with sounds can be.

Tonotopia is free to view in the John Lyons Charity Community Gallery within the Victoria and Albert Museum from 10am to 5pm.

More information about the exhibit and links to online versions of some of the interviews can be found on the Tonotopia website.

Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and blogger from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and makes the occasional video about deaf awareness on his YouTube channel. He can also be found talking about disability, politics, theatre, books and music on his Twitter, or on his blog, The Life of a Thinker.