Islands of Conscious Power in an Ocean of Unconscious Cooperation
2020
Mixed-media installation
Server rack, carpet, fifteen-channel sound interface (autogenerate sound)
Islands of Conscious Power in an Ocean of Unconscious Cooperation explores the threshold of noise-related political subjectivity. A custom-made interface capable of granulating sound through a fifteen-channel speaker array deconstructs an Amazonian soundscape into millisecond-long fragments. This installation proposes a sonic experience that blurs the lines between the nature/culture division. An intricate setup of speakers, mounting arms, and cables create an entropic system, opening space to speculate about the emergence of machinic ecologies. As an immersive installation, the viewer’s movement across the room creates an uncanny experience that mutates based on their position. When heard from afar, the installation resembles the Amazonian rainforest soundscape. However, when standing close to a single speaker, one hears intermittent data manifesting as a non-intelligible audio signal.
Utilizing components purchased from Amazon to be returned after the 30-day policy, the installation confronts two archetypal figures in the Western cultural imaginary. On tone hand, Amazon symbolizes a multifaceted neoliberal expansion. Conversely, the Amazon represents an exteriorized nature contracting due to voracious global designs.
2020