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 (2024) is an artwork designed to respond to the detection of gravitational waves, produced by cataclysmic cosmic events such as the collision of black holes or neutron stars. These cosmic ripples travel through the Universe and reach Earth, where they are detected by the international network of sensitive instruments (LIGO) located around the planet.
The work receives notifications of such events and responds by generating a unique sound composition in real time. The shaping of the final auditory outcome is influenced each time by information collected from the immediate environment of the work through the sensors it is equipped with. The sound is emitted from a speaker placed inside a glass sphere, which further influences the acoustic result.
It is as if these cosmic fluctuations, traveling across the universe, gently disrupt the work as they pass through our planet, prompting it to respond with waves of sound uniquely molded by its own environment.
The piece doesn’t continuously reveal itself to the viewer; it remains partially hidden until the conditions that activate it are met.
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.
The work receives notifications of such events and responds by generating a unique sound composition in real time. The shaping of the final auditory outcome is influenced each time by information collected from the immediate environment of the work through the sensors it is equipped with. The sound is emitted from a speaker placed inside a glass sphere, which further influences the acoustic result.
It is as if these cosmic fluctuations, traveling across the universe, gently disrupt the work as they pass through our planet, prompting it to respond with waves of sound uniquely molded by its own environment.
The piece doesn’t continuously reveal itself to the viewer; it remains partially hidden until the conditions that activate it are met.
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.
