What does the world look like before we even have the words to describe it?

First Perceptions of Human Consciousness by Benoît Theunissen is an immersive audiovisual experience that seeks to evoke the earliest moments of sensory awareness—those fleeting, primal impressions of light, colour, and movement perceived within the womb. Through an interplay of intense, flowing colours and abrupt contrasts of brightness and shadow, this artwork reimagines the sensory awakening of a foetus. Waves of luminous hues—some vibrant and warm, others deep and shadowy—pulse and merge, creating a hypnotic visual symphony that mirrors the uncertain yet mesmerising emergence of consciousness. The accompanying soundtrack, composed of long, slow instrumental tones, guides the viewer through this immersive journey. At times soothing, at times overwhelming, the soundscape reflects the fluidity of early perception—where beauty, wonder, and dissonance coexist in a space untouched by defined experience.

By capturing the ephemeral and abstract nature of these first perceptions, this piece invites the audience to reconnect with the raw, unfiltered essence of being—before thought, before language, before the world takes shape.