breath, void, ground

Author

Huichun Yang, Rhode Island School of DesignFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-31-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Digital Media

First Advisor

Shawn Greenlee

Second Advisor

Maralie Armstrong-Rial

Third Advisor

Alex Chechile

Abstract

Before the sound, there is breath. Before the explosion, there is a threshold. Before the noise, there is silence.

Inspired by the physicality of balloons, this thesis explores breath as sonic material that carries memory, moves through bodies, and resonates across spaces. The balloon becomes a skin that holds breath: a force inhaling trauma, ritual, and intimacy. When released through mouth and latex, breath conjures alien, untranslatable voices that hiss and hum.

It begins with a balloon and expands with endless breath. The balloon becomes a site where the history, body, and voice disintegrate and reform. The pressure and tension between skins generate vibration, touching the body and its surroundings.

It is a breathing and sonic practice, not of positioning or grounding the floating self, but of exploring nomadic ways of being in, of, and as a void that resonates between bodies.

Recommended Citation

Yang, Huichun, "breath, void, ground" (2025). Masters Theses. 1366.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1366

Creative Commons License

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