Book Me is an international sales exhibition of specialized art history literature organized by the Publishing House of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

This year’s edition will feature both international and Czech publications in the field of the performing arts (theater, dance, music), as well as new titles related to this year’s theme, Listening to the More-Than-Human. The exhibition, featuring an accompanying sound installation, was prepared by Veronika Svobodová and Ondřej Konrád. 

The exhibition is based on the premise that listening is a way of establishing a relationship. Whether we focus our attention on what is near or far, obvious or subliminal, we become intertwined with what we listen to. Hearing thus allows us to approach the very concept of the “more-than-human.” This concept does not denote a world separate from humans, but rather the reality and influence of a complex network of relationships formed by various forms of life, as well as materials, technologies, and the environment. 

Sound compels us to expose ourselves to this reality in a wholly physical way. It is similar to touch; it touches us. Unlike sight, which allows us to adopt a seemingly detached position toward the object of observation, hearing exposes us to the experience that nothing exists as an isolated object—a voice passes through us that belongs to animals, plants, and natural and technical phenomena and processes on the periphery of our sensory and conceptual perception. 

This more-than-human voice can be directional or diffuse, audible or nearly inaudible; it can inform us, disorient us, sharpen our attention, or compel us to change our position. In any case, however, it draws us into active participation in the events of the living world, which shapes us just as much as it transcends us.

Ondřej Konrád is a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, a visual artist, and a musician. In his work, he focuses on connecting non-human and human environments through the empathetic use of contemporary technologies. He collaborates with artists in the Czech Republic and abroad. On the music scene, he performs under the pseudonym Eizola.

Veronika Svobodová is an audiovisual artist, musician, and set designer who combines sound, set design, installation, and performance in her work. She explores the relationship between sound and space—the sound that shapes space, and the set design and objects that produce sound. She collaborates with figures from both the international and Czech art scenes in the fields of theater and experimental music.