About

Lost Communications is an ongoing project that explores the communication and cognition amongst non-human living creatures. There is a light and darkness in nature that civilisation has made us numb to and that we want to explore.

Ian and An-Ting initiated the project in the most traditional way — by travelling to various locations on foot, recording sounds, and investigating how people could coexist with nature in a world seemingly dominated by globalisation. Our journey led us to experience the mystery of consciousness triggered by Ayahuasca in Iquitos, Peru, and we were fascinated by the Mongolian nomads' ability to blend traditional lifestyles with modern adaptations while maintaining harmony with nature. In the reindeer mountains, the forest inhabited by Mongolia's indigenous people was the most untouched place we had ever encountered.

Several different places in China still retain the ways to live closely intertwined with nature and people there can capture the communication with nature and spirits. Everywhere we have been, different birds sang the most intricate songs and in completely different languages and dialects everywhere. All these experiences left us in awe and we want to further explore the world and uncover those lost forms of communication.

In our quest, we aim to share our discoveries and shape them into artistic expressions. Our initial endeavours include creating music using birdsongs and generating AI visuals inspired by our experiences. However, this is just the beginning. The project holds boundless potential for exploration, and we have much more to share. Some of the studies that form our directions:

“Sound as data and information, sound as music and meaning, sound as language and the true tongue of places and nonhuman peoples. Listening is both a scientific practice and a form of witnessing that acknowledges our presence as guests on this planet and embraces our kinship with other species across the tree of life.” - Life of Sound by Karen Bakker

「致虛極，守靜篤。萬物並作，吾以觀復。夫物芸芸，各復歸其根。歸根曰靜，是謂復命。復命曰常，知常曰明。不知常，妄作凶。知常容，容乃公，公乃王，王乃天，天乃道，道乃久，沒身不殆。」道德經

“Attain utmost vacuity, maintain profound tranquility. All things flourish together, and I observe their return. As myriad things blossom, each returns to its root. Returning to the root is tranquility; this is known as returning to one's destiny. Returning to one's destiny is eternal; to know eternity is enlightenment. Not knowing eternity, one recklessly creates misfortune. Knowing eternity allows acceptance, and acceptance brings impartiality. Impartiality leads to nobility, nobility to kingship, kingship to heaven, heaven to the Way, the Way to enduring, and enduring to immortality.” - Tao Te Ching