Plaza

Whistling, clapping, invented sounds, rhythms, code words – what does connectedness sound like? How do we recognise those who matter most to us when sight disappears?

This is a participatory performance.

Artist Li Binyuan invites partners, friends, families, and all forms of intimate connection to take part in a shared ritual. For 30–45 minutes, you enter a temporary “square”, put on blindfolds, and navigate the space through listening and sound. Listening to and making sounds that you share only with your loved ones, you attempt to recognise the presence of someone meaningful to you.

You can enter enter together with someone you know. Or you enter alone, holding someone in mind — a partner far away, a loved one no longer reachable, a person remembered through voice, rhythm, accent, or silence.

Plaza asks a simple question: What remains of intimacy when vision is removed?

Together we transform the foyer of the Humboldt Forum into a temporary plaza — a place where private memories surface in public, where accents become a form of kinship, and where listening becomes a quiet counterweight to the visual noise of the present.

Intimacy can persist across distance, across time, and even through absence. The body often remembers connection before language does.

We are looking for participants:

• Participants may join alone or as a pair
• Willingness to be blindfolded and communicate through personal sounds
• All backgrounds, languages, generations, and relationship forms are welcome

Plaza is a quiet revolution – a celebration of how deeply we know each other, even without seeing. Join us in creating a living map of sound, care, and connection.