Resonance
Niels Bohr Institute
Copenhagen, Denmark
2024
Resonance, 2024
Coated glass sphere, aluminum profile, wood,
sensors, speaker, cables, electronics
125 x 35 x 35 cm.
Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark
Resonance is an artwork designed to react to the detection of gravitational waves caused by merging black holes or neutron stars. It receives real-time alerts from the LIGO Scientific Collaboration about candidate events involving such collisions, and in response, generates audible waves influenced by the surrounding environment.
Equipped with multiple sensors, the artwork collects information about its immediate environment and detects the presence and motion of nearby living beings. When an alert is received, these sensors are triggered to gather data from the environment as well as about the activity of the artwork's devices. This data then serves as a parameter for shaping a generative real-time sound composition.
The resulting audio is emitted through a speaker housed within a glass sphere, with its physical properties influencing the final sonic output. It is as if these cosmic ripples could introduce disorder into the artwork, prompting it to generate sound waves. It is a piece that remains partially hidden until certain conditions are met, allowing the interplay between cosmic and terrestrial events to unfold.
The artwork was developed during the 2024 Art & Science residency organized by the STRONG Group, a research team at the Niels Bohr International Academy dedicated to gravitational wave astronomy and strong-field gravity. The piece receives real-time alerts about candidate events from the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.
It is on permanent display at the NBI
building.
