The Laughs of the World - General view

The installation The Laughs of the World is, by no means, laughter therapy. Its main goal is to make the viewer laugh and, at the same time, “listen to the laughter of the world”: children, adults and old people from different countries and cultures laughing. For each culture, each language (some scholars believe that language developed out of laughter) gives shape to laughter in its own particular way.

Like Socrates, the only thing we can aspire to know is that we know nothing. But at the same time we have the power to comprehend the world around us through the simple method of constantly asking logical questions until arriving at the truth. Pythagoras and Plato thought that when we listen to music, we can vibrate once again with the entire universe, feeling and experiencing it. In Esther Ferrer’s case, her curiosity toward the noises, sounds, and vibrations of this world recalls John Cage’s remark that “the music never stops, we just stop listening.”