Devices composed of multiple microphones, microchips and relays* are installed in various locations on the walls, ceiling, and under the floor of the anechoic room. As soon as the microphones detect a sound that exceeds a certain volume level, this triggers a switch of the respective device’s relay, which again makes a tiny noise. Every device that reacts this way to a detected sound makes a sound by itself, and thus causes a chain reaction involving the other devices. The intensity of this chain reaction increases and decreases, sometimes reaching a state of saturation, while at certain intervals the system is reset to restore the original state of silence.

This work is the result of an attempt to create an alternative natural environment by way of technology. According to the simple rule that sounds emitted by devices in reaction to their sonic environment trigger reactions of other devices, the work as an accumulation of individual devices undergoes various textural transformations. This is where an organic acoustic environment comparable to reactions of insects and other animals in a forest comes into being, which reveals itself in totally different shapes each time. The setting of an anechoic room, an environment with virtually no sound reverberation, makes it easier to discern the direction from which a sound is audible, causing a sensation of being surrounded by sounds coming from all directions.

*Relay: Device for switching electrical circuits according to electrical signal input.

Cooperation: MUGIBAYASHI Hiroko, HIRABAYASHI Shin