Amrita Sethi creates art from the sound of her voice

While the saying goes 'a picture is worth a thousand words,' artist Amrita Sethi believes that a single word can hold the power of a thousand images.

At 40, Sethi left behind a thriving finance career three years ago to pursue her true passion for art. Based in Dubai, she quickly gained recognition for her innovative multimedia art form, 'Voice Note Art,' which is centered around speech.

She begins each artwork by recording herself speaking a word or phrase, which is then transformed into a computer-generated soundwave image. The peaks and troughs of the wave visually represent the vibrations of her voice.

Sethi then traces over the soundwave’s abstract shape, turning it into a visual interpretation inspired by the word or phrase. For instance, her first Voice Note Art piece, created in 2019, featured a recording of her saying 'Dubai,' with the resulting artwork capturing the city’s skyscrapers and landmarks.

The following year, Sethi created her second Dubai piece. 'Other skylines I’ve painted haven’t evolved as quickly as Dubai’s cityscape. I wanted to highlight the progress, while also acknowledging the city’s heritage,' she explained.

The concept of turning soundwaves into artwork isn't new. Many companies offer personalized prints of soundwaves from customers' voices or popular songs. However, Sethi's unique artistic take on a waveform is entirely her own.

In addition to painting cityscapes and landmarks, Sethi also captures meaningful moments in people's lives, drawing inspiration from names or emotions.

'I aim to capture human consciousness and the emotions evoked by hearing a word or phrase, then express it abstractly,' Sethi shared.

To deepen the emotional connection, Sethi adds a QR code to her pieces, allowing viewers to listen to the spoken word through their phone or tablet by scanning the code.

What exactly is an NFT?

Recently, Sethi has taken a bold step into the digital realm by adopting non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to bridge the gap between physical art and the digital world.

NFTs are digital tokens that transform works of art (and other collectibles) into unique items that can be purchased with cryptocurrency on the blockchain. This public digital ledger records transactions in an unchangeable format. Since no two NFTs are identical, they create a sense of rarity in a world where digital works can easily be duplicated, and each comes with a certificate of authenticity.

"I selected NFTs and blockchain as my medium because my Voice Note Art is inherently dynamic," she explained. "Entering the digital realm allows me to use technology as a tool to express myself in new ways."

Sethi believes that the NFT space has the potential to help people gain a deeper understanding of the digital marketplace.

"NFTs can serve as a gateway for individuals to explore the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain," she shared, "especially for those who feel they missed out when the movement first began."

While some experts anticipate that the current NFT boom may be just a passing trend, Sethi is confident that it could fundamentally reshape the art world.

"We're about to witness an entirely new wave of art forms that were previously unimaginable," she predicted.