Radiation Sensitive Sound Installation, Ultrasound Installation, Electromagnet Installation.

Electromagnet Installation.

Steel sheets, stainless-steel rods, electromagnets, control unit, infrared sensors, power supply Nine sand-blasted steel sheets hang from the ceiling of the exhibition space. Electromagnets, stuck to the under surface of each steel sheet, are connected to an infrared sensor via a control unit. When a sensor detects a human presence, the control box begins rapidly switching the electric current to the magnet on and off. When the current is turned off, the magnet begins to fall, and is then pulled back when the current is switched on again. This continues endlessly and makes the sheet resonate. The frequency becomes constantly higher when the sensor is activated, and slowly drops out of the audible range when it is de-activated. The public’s movements cause the nine sheets – each one in a different phase – to create a constantly altering soundscape in the exhibition space.

Dimensions variable

The Ultrasound installation was made in 1996 for Manifesta 1 -biennale in Rotterdam and has appeared at shows in Tampere (1997), London (1997), Stockholm (2000), Frankfurt (2002) and Hasselt (2004). It is part of Kiasma's (Finnish Museum of Contemporary Art) collection.