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-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) collaboration, which detects gravitational waves coming from space through an interferometer, a device that uses laser beams to measure distortions in space smaller than a single proton.
When such an alert is received, sensors embedded in the installation are activated and begin collecting data about its surrounding environment and the activity of the artwork's devices. This data shapes a unique sound composition generated in real time, emitted through a speaker housed inside a black 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.
