The Sound of Memories | Interview with Mr.Wang

Click on the image at the bottom to listen🎵.

Preface｜The Sound of Memory: Listening to the Unseen
Wang Yaofu, 70 years old, is from Changchun, China. He lives with Meige Syndrome, a rare neurological condition that causes involuntary muscle movements, particularly facial spasms and eye twitching. As his condition progressed, he gradually lost his vision.

For the ChromaSonic project’s section titled “The Unseen Heard”, we invited Mr. Wang to participate in a unique experiment: transforming a personal photograph into music. The chosen image captured a tender moment — his black-and-white dog walking along a sunlit beach. Using digital techniques, we turned this photo into sound, allowing Mr. Wang to “see” the memory once more through music.

What follows is our 25-minute conversation with Mr. Wang and his family — a dialogue about sound, memory, and what it means to remember through the ears.

Interview｜
Q1: Hello Mr. Wang, thank you for joining our project. Today we’ll be listening to a piece of music generated from one of your photos. Before we begin, do you remember the day that photo was taken?
Yes, I do. That was the year we went to Dalian. My daughter took the whole family to see the sea. I could barely open my eyes at the time — my vision was already failing — but I remember the sun being especially warm. Our little dog kept running on the beach, nearly got caught by the waves. I could hear everyone laughing, and I laughed along.

Q2: Was that dog your family pet? What was his name?
His name was Laicai. My wife raised him — he lived with us for over a decade. He wasn’t just a pet; he was family. When my eyesight got worse, he would nudge me with his nose or lick my hand, like he knew I couldn’t see him anymore.

Q3: What’s your strongest impression from that photo?
The light that day — orange, soft. Laicai’s fur glowed in the sunset. And the sound of the sea, gentle and steady. I remember thinking: if only I could hold on to that feeling forever.

Q4: Before we play the music, is there anything you hope to “hear” from that photo?
I want to hear the waves — soft, rolling in slowly — and the sound of his paws tapping the sand as he runs. If possible, maybe add some piano, something light and quiet, like a memory whispering to itself.

Q5: And if this music carried an emotion, would you want it to be joyful, sad, or nostalgic?
Nostalgic. Like something from the past — distant, but still warm in the heart. Not the kind of nostalgia that makes you cry, but the kind where you suddenly recall a moment, and it catches you off guard, in a good way.

Q6: Great. Now we’re going to play the music for you. Feel free to close your eyes and just listen.
(music plays)

Q7: What’s the first thing that came to mind after hearing it?
I felt like I was back on that beach again. Laicai running ahead, and I couldn’t run, just slowly following behind. The piano reminded me of my grandson when he used to practice at home. The waves sounded like my wife calling out, “Be careful!”

Q8: Did you hear anything in the music that sounded particularly “real” to you?
Yes, I heard his tail wagging. Truly — it felt like he was running around happily. There was also a breeze, soft and gentle. It made me feel full, satisfied.

Q9: Do you think the music captured the “colors” of the photo?
Yes. It felt warm. The orange sky — it’s like the high notes of the music, gentle and glowing. The deeper tones reminded me of the sea, especially the middle section that flowed like waves pushing forward.

Q10: What did this sound feel like to you — more than just music?
It didn’t feel like just music. It felt like memory. Like someone softly narrating what happened that day, bringing me back to that moment. I couldn’t see it, but my heart could.

Q11: If the photo could keep making sounds, what else would you like to hear about Laicai?
His little grumbles when he wanted to cuddle, the crunching sound when he ate, and his snoring when he curled up by my feet at night. Those were the sounds that made me sleep peacefully.

Q12: Do you think transforming photos into sound has meaning for people like you?
Yes, absolutely. Sometimes we’re not blind — we just haven’t been given ways to feel. This music you created, it’s like another window opening up. I can “see” again, just through my ears this time.

Q13: Would you like more people like yourself to experience something like this?
Of course. Us older folks, we may not talk much, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have memories. You young people should come hear our stories — then help us turn them into music.

Q14: If you could pick another photo to do this again, which would you choose?
I’d pick a photo of me and my wife riding a bike by Jingyuetan Lake when we were young. She had two braids back then. I was riding, she sat on the back, singing. I still remember the sound of the wind and her laughter.

Q15: Finally, is there anything you’d like to say to the young people who helped you “hear” these memories?
What you’re doing is incredible. Not just because you can make music, but because you’re willing to listen to people like us — those who can’t see anymore. The rarest thing in this world is someone who’s willing to listen.

Postscript｜Giving Memory a Sound
As we wrapped up the interview, Mr. Wang quietly hummed the melody to himself. He said it sounded like “Laicai’s footsteps” and “his grandson’s piano.” For him, this experience was not just about listening — it was about remembering, about seeing again with his heart.

This project has taught us that images are more than visuals. They are fragments of life, tucked into memory. When sight can no longer guide us back to those places, perhaps sound can take its place — gently, and with care.